


Don't Be Afraid Of The World (I'm Right Here)

by AndreaLyn



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:42:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndreaLyn/pseuds/AndreaLyn
Summary: After Alex’s honorable discharge, he finds a new job teaching at UNM, where he meets and quickly falls for Dr. Michael Guerin, but Michael’s arrival in Alex’s life unearths skeletons in the Manes family closet. Soon, Alex falls down a rabbit hole as he discovers that his mother might love someone connected to Michael, his father might be guilty of meddling in Michael’s past, and on top of it all, aliens might be real.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes, Past Michael Guerin/Maria Deluca, additional background relationships
Comments: 54
Kudos: 128
Collections: Roswell New Mexico Big Bang 2020





	1. Meet-Cute

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for Crystal for the amazing beta on this, Inigo for this idea planted in my head ages ago that came to fruition, and Millie for the insanely amazing art. I’ve linked it through the piece, so when you click on the link, it will take you to the art for that scene and I couldn’t be luckier! (I do think that it won't open in a new window, so I'd suggest doing that if you don't want to be taken out of the chapter) Thank you to Christi and Tove for the constant cheerleading and support.
> 
> This will play with the timeline in that the crash moves up about forty years, but otherwise, we're absolutely canon compliant with some ripples changing how things went (ie: Mindy staying with Jesse, timeline fuckery and where people settled).

Alex watches as they put the finishing touches on the nameplate of his office.

No longer Captain Manes, he’s traded in the beret for a pen tucked behind his ear. He’s Professor Manes now, ready to trade in the military life for the civilian one, with a five-class load of Computer Science students at UNM. 

“That should do it, Professor,” the maintenance guy says, sliding in the gold plate etched with his name. 

“Thanks,” he says, still in awe that he’s a _Professor_ now. Alex stares at it, brushing his thumb over the engraving and feeling the most immense and relieved feeling that he’s finally escaped the military. This nameplate is his proof.

It’s true that leaving the military had only come after he’d lost his leg, but that had been the lever that allowed Jesse Manes to concede that Alex didn’t need to be serving anymore. 

It helps that his brothers are still in the business.

When he’d first started, he’d felt invincible. Working up the ranks to become a Captain in the Air Force earned him a respect that he never had at home or in Roswell when he was younger, but even that façade had been stripped away when the reality of war had sunk in. He’d questioned if he was the enemy and the psychological battle fell secondary to the physical one, when he’d lost his leg. 

After that, he couldn’t imagine staying in the same institution that asked him to fight those battles every day, especially when the man in the mirror was becoming one of his own worst enemies, his mind the kind of prison that he struggled against supporting. 

With the Air Force an unhappy memory behind him, Alex lets himself into his office, surrounded by boxes that he’s yet to unpack. 

He’s never had _space_ like this before. This is a far cry from the clustered bunks they shared and the limited space in the mess hall. This gives him breathing room and a place for him to actually display his personality. 

That is, if he can remember what it happens to be. 

Alex and all his hobbies and quirks and personality have been buried under the monotony of the military for so long that he’s genuinely curious if he’s the same person that he used to be. He puts up his medals along with the pictures he has of his various promotions, filling up a shelf with a man that he barely recognizes anymore.

More than that, he’s not sure he wants to be him. 

This is his new start. He’s taking the skills that the military would rather he used to bring down other governments and intends to provide an education with them. Shaping young minds is a far better cry than stopping foreign interests and there’s no doubt in Alex’s mind that he’s doing the right thing.

That doesn’t mean he’s without his doubts.

Maybe doubt is a strong word. 

Alex thrives on control. He likes knowing what to do in any situation and even though he hadn’t enjoyed being in the military, he’d known how it operated. He amassed secrets and intel and figured out how to navigate it. Now that he’s traded the uniform for academia, he’s facing down a confusing and murky future.

For now, at least.

He’s bulked up his schedule with activities and meetings to start whittling at what he doesn’t know, which means that soon enough, he should be a duck to water within the academic system. Glancing to the clock, panic sets in when he realizes that in setting up his office, he’s also missed the start of one of those activities. 

Shit. He’s so late.

Alex checks his watch and grabs his things, his crutch in hand as he starts to make his way across campus without breaking his other leg in his rush. 

It’s absolutely not a good impression if he’s horrifyingly late to his first meeting on the faculty’s association for mentors, seeing as he’s trying to build himself some strong relationships so that tenure can be a lot more readily available, down the line. Each step he takes is joined by Alex berating himself for losing track of time like this.

His leg is aching by the time he arrives at the meeting. Cautiously, he opens the creaking door as he winces, hating the fact that he can’t even sneak in.

“Sorry,” Alex apologizes as he lets himself into the room. 

Does he deliberately make sure that he leans on his crutch, forcing everyone to pay attention to it, as an excuse for why he’s late? 

Yeah, it feels crass, but what’s the point of having it if he can’t at least use it as a get out of jail free card for social awkwardness and being late because he got lost in his own head?

“No apology necessary,” the woman at the front acknowledges him, gesturing inside as she smiles warmly at him. Dr. Everhart, he thinks, the Dean of Medicine. “It’s all right, we were only just beginning. Please, come in, Captain.”

“Alex is fine,” he insists, feeling awkward with all eyes on him, suddenly. He tries to look around at the group to see how many people are staring his way, knowing that one representative from each arm of the faculty is at these sessions to set up the mentor program. 

His eyes land on the last person on the far right of the room. 

Alex’s eyes widen for a moment before he contains himself, leaning on his crutch to get inside and take the seat next to that last person – who happens to be sprawled out, all lean lines and gorgeous curls, with honey warm eyes staring at him. He breathes out shakily, trying to ignore the way the guy is looking at him like Alex happens to be a meal, paying attention as Dr. Everhart takes over the floor to welcome Alex and talk about the agenda for the evening. He’s really not used to attention like that, even if he’s had his fair share of company over the years.

Those guys had always been about convenience and romance had never really factored into it. This guy seems to be looking at Alex considerately, absently gnawing on a pen and destroying the cap, still paying attention to Alex despite the fact that Dr. Everhart has continued on with her updates.

Halfway through a never-ending boring discussion about protocol changes and how assignments will work this year, the guy leans over into Alex’s space.

“Captain Manes, huh?”

Alex keeps his eyes forward, knowing that it’s been a while for him given the way that even a soft press of breath on his neck excites him the way it does. He’s had company, he reminds himself, even if he can’t actively name the last time that was.

He glances over to see the guy leaning towards him. “Alex,” he corrects, again. 

“I’m Michael Guerin,” he says, holding out a hand to shake out of sight, like he’s being cautious of being discovered. “Mechanical engineering,” he says proudly, his eyes sharply on Alex like he's trying to devour him with his eyes or figure out all his secrets with a single look. 

“Computer science,” Alex replies, trying not to let that stare unnerve him. 

“Cool,” Michael says with a nod, turning back in his seat so he can pay attention to the rest of the meeting.

Alex tries to do the same, but Michael’s a distracting force of nature. Every few moments, he glances over to Michael to soak in the look of him. He’s gorgeous. His profile looks sharply defined as he tips his chin up, nodding along and making notes about the expectations. Michael has just the right amount of stubble that it draws Alex’s attention to the line of his jaw, rather than hiding it. The sweep of curl along his forehead makes Alex tense his fingers up at his notebook when he’s seized with the urge to brush it out of the way. Every so often, Michael will glance over and when he catches Alex looking at him, he’ll grin, like he knows exactly why he’s got Alex’s attention. It’s followed by Michael ducking his head down as he huffs out a soft laugh and it makes Alex think about grabbing him by the neck and kissing him, pinning him against the wall, pushing his head back and devouring him with his mouth until that all-consuming need is satisfied.

It’s been a very long time since Alex felt consumed by this kind of need and he’s embarrassed that he could be taken over so quickly by a pair of warm eyes, a great body, and a sexy voice. 

Luckily, there’s plenty of routine information to focus on, which means he’s not going to need to hide a hard-on, but there had been a moment where it felt _very_ likely he would. 

The meeting disbands with Dr. Everhart telling them they’ll receive their two mentees by the end of the week. After that, most of the group heads out. 

Michael doesn’t go anywhere, still sprawled out in his chair, reaching down to pick up a paper cup of coffee from the ground, sipping it as he studies Alex in that all-consuming way he did before. Alex sticks around, too, interested in this puzzle of a man who keeps staring at him.

“Are you trying to eat me with your eyes?” Alex blurts out, because honestly, who stares like that? Never mind that _he’s_ been doing the same, but it’s been a long time for him. He has an excuse.

What’s Michael’s?

Michael shrugs, sipping his coffee and straightening up as he puts it back on the ground. “You’re the most interesting thing to walk through that door in months,” he insists. “Decorated war hero who gave his leg to serve our country is one thing, but the pictures of you they published on the school intranet do _not_ do you justice.”

Alex knows that Michael had been looking at him with interest, but the comments might make him blush nonetheless.

It’s also doing a good job of getting right to the point. Subtle, Michael is not. 

“Have you been doing this mentorship program very long?” Alex stumbles to try and speak coherently, wanting to have a conversation that goes beyond him gaping at Michael and trying to figure out what shade his eyes are.

Honey brown? Dark amber? He has the feeling when he’s jerking off tonight, he’ll still be thinking about it. 

“It was gently implied that I needed some more activities if I want tenure,” Michael says wryly. “I already publish enough papers, so I needed to become more well-rounded. This seemed pretty high on the list of options when it comes to low effort.” He grins, still slouching in his chair as he lets his eyes drag over Alex’s body again with that hungry, intent look. “It’s starting to look really promising now.”

One year ago, he might have blushed or stammered.

Instead, Alex just _laughs_. It’s refreshing to have someone flirt with him so blatantly and so well, and he’s really into it. 

“I guess I’m going to get to see you around between the meetings and you beginning your classes,” Michael says, collecting his books from below his chair as he sticks his empty coffee cup on top. “Captain Alex Manes, Computer Science,” he recites, almost an accusation. “You’ve got an office set up in the tech building?”

Mutely, Alex nods. Michael’s definitely flirting with him and Alex is more than happy to let it happen. 

Funny how even though Alex has spent years watching other people do this dance, knowing the melody, and wanting to join in, he’s forgotten all the steps now that it’s his turn. He loves being on the receiving end of this, loves how brazen Michael is, but for some reason, he can’t get himself to give back as good as he’s getting, even though he knows he’s more than capable. 

“Okay, then,” Michael says with a considerate nod. “I guess I’ll see you around. Do you want me to grab your crutch for you?”

Finally, Alex summons his voice. “No, I’m okay,” he vows, reaching for it and steadying his fingers on the handle, squeezing a few times like he’s trying to bring the life back to his fingertips. 

Michael leaves, but not quickly. He lingers, walking backwards and bumping into the doorframe. The jolt makes him nearly drop his stack of books and the empty cup in his eagerness to get one last look at Alex.

Laughing, Alex hides his smile behind his palm, even if the bright sound of his laughter rings out clearly through the room. “Careful,” he teases, pushing to his feet so he can steady himself on the crutch as he gets his blood flowing once more.

Undeterred, Michael winks at him. “Worth it,” he announces, and tugs at the cup with his teeth to pry it from the stack, releasing it into the trash. He lets his eyes drift from Alex’s tip to toe in a long gaze that Alex can practically _feel_ , but then he’s gone, shaking his head like he can’t believe what just happened. 

Alex knows the feeling. 

He definitely hadn’t been expecting to meet anyone quite like Michael Guerin today, but he can’t say he’s upset about the development. It’s been months since he’s felt so alive and so _desired_ and the way Michael had looked at him awakened something in Alex that’s long been dormant.

It’s been a _good_ day.

Maybe the mentorship gig will have some perks after all.

* * *

He’s not old, he keeps telling himself.

He’s young, he has the rest of his life ahead of him, he wouldn’t even look out of place as a student. Hell, he got carded the other day when buying beer. He’s _not_ old, so why does he feel it? 

It’s not that his students are that much younger than him in age. They’re really not, given that his youngest student is within ten years of him, age-wise, but he thinks it boils down to life experiences. He’s only twenty-eight, but he’s been overseas three times for his country, blown up once for it, and he’s got the trauma to match.

These kids are just starting out their lives. 

Alex is _ancient_ compared to them, given they still have their innocence intact. Their problems are not his problems. Their problems can’t even begin to imagine his. 

“Read over the chapter again and try those new problems I gave you,” Alex calls out to his class. “We’ll go over the questions during the next class and then start on the programming assignment.” 

He can’t stop them from making him feel old, but he can assign some work that means they’ll start to catch up, at least when it comes to what they know. Lucky for him, no one wants to stick around and complain about the workload, giving Alex a chance to collect himself and his thoughts at the front of the class.

Once the last student goes, he bends over to grab his backpack, sliding his textbooks and teaching materials inside.

“Programming assignment?”

Alex’s breath catches in his throat. “Can’t be too nice to them,” Alex points out. 

He’d been anticipating running into Michael again, but he really hadn’t anticipated him showing up at the end of one of his classes. Glancing over his shoulder, he sees Michael standing in the door of his classroom, somehow looking better than he did the other night. 

“No more crutch?” Michael asks, his gaze fixed on Alex’s hand.

“I don’t always need it,” Alex admits, letting his eyes slide over Michael’s body. “What are you doing in the computer science building? I didn’t think they let engineers in,” he quips, even if his heart is racing over the fact that Michael is likely here to visit him. 

“Did you really think I wouldn’t look you up?” Michael asks, leaning his shoulder back against the doorframe. He’s wearing a cozy looking cream sweater and a pair of jeans and cowboy boots that make him look like he’s missing the cowboy hat, but if he found it, he’d be sitting pretty on the cover of Modern Cowboy. “I came to ask you out for coffee.”

Alex blinks at him for a moment, collecting his books. “Coffee?”

“Yeah, you know. Hot drink, caffeinated,” Michael drawls, pushing himself off the door and wandering inside the lecture hall, hips first. “Iced, if that’s how you roll. I thought it’d be nice, you know, you and me, going out like that.”

Alex doesn’t want to ask if it’s a date, but he can read between the lines.

“And what if I like tea?” he challenges.

“Well, I roll both ways,” Michael quips. “I guess to everyone their own taste.” He raises both brows and steps inside towards Alex, holding out a hand like he wants to take Alex’s backpack for him.

It’s a bit much, but it is sweet and Alex doesn’t really want to say no.

“Yeah. Let’s grab a drink,” he agrees, suddenly feeling a rush of warmth that makes his cheeks go flush and his heart beat quicker. He belatedly hands over the backpack, because he figures if Michael wants to carry it for him, he’s not going to argue it. He tugs his lip between his teeth, working it as he takes in the amazing cut of Michael’s jeans and the belt buckle that tops them off.

It’s a silver siren screaming to pay attention to his dick.

Now that Alex is paying attention, the jeans definitely are _tight_ and hadn’t just been an illusion of the eye. 

Michael takes him to the coffee shop in the main commons, finding them a blissfully quiet corner that’s partially hidden by a wall, so if students do come in that recognize one or both of them, they’re not going to get interrupted. 

“Tea, you said?” 

“Green, with one sugar,” Alex confirms, accepting his backpack from Michael so he can hook it over his chair as he settles in, making sure that his prosthetic has a place where it won’t knock into Michael. Once he’s in his chair (back to the wall, where he can get a good read of the shop), he lets his gaze slide back to Michael with a small, teasing smile. “Bring me something sweet, would you?”

“What, I’m not good enough?” 

Alex has to laugh at the audacity. “I don’t even _know_ you.”

“Yeah, but I bet I could make your heart go crazy from how sweet I am,” Michael guarantees, digging his wallet out of his back pocket, leaning into Alex’s space. He’s so close that his breath tickles against Alex’s upper lip. “Can’t you feel it? Racing?” he whispers, eyes bright. 

Alex holds his gaze, defiant and deliberate, and then he makes a show of leaning to the side where he can see the baked goods case. “Biscotti, I think,” he says, calmly, like he isn’t already half hard from the thought of Michael’s breath ghosting over other parts of his body. It’s the most alive he’s felt in years and he has to calm himself down. To deal with it, he unzips the front of his backpack and digs out a few crumpled bills, offering them out. 

“Your wish is my command,” Michael guarantees, pushing back at the money. “My treat,” he insists. “I’m the one who asked you out. It’s only fair that I pay this time. We’ll go dutch next time.”

“Next time,” Alex echoes. “You don’t even know me enough to know if you’ll want a second date.”

“I’d like to.”

With that, he’s off to the counter, which is good. It gives Alex a chance to _breathe_ , almost like the little flirtatious back-and-forth has been grabbing onto him like a vice, making it hard to get in a deep breath. His lungs ache for more -- more breath or more Michael? 

He inhales deeply, shakily, but the ache remains.

It’s Michael that he wants more of. Good to know. 

Michael returns with a small tea in a mug. Alex reaches out for it with both hands, his fingers brushing against the smooth backs of Michael’s palms, sliding down the lines of palm and then knuckles as he carefully takes hold of the mug. His cheeks heat up, going red from the wafting steam from the tea.

Not the touch to Michael’s hand, not the way he’d felt his heart rate spike against the graceful bones of his wrist, not the proximity of Michael’s _incredibly_ warm skin or the way he seems to smell like he just ducked in from a thunderstorm.

Fuck, it’s been a while since Alex has done this. Maybe it’s not Michael at all, but the sheer possibility of another person. Their warmth, their physical touch, their kindness. Yet, when he looks at Michael and his warm eyes, his easy grin, the way he angles his body towards him, he doesn’t think he’d feel like this about just anyone. 

Heart skipping another beat when Michael arranges his boots next to Alex’s shoes, he reaches for the biscotti, deciding that it’s been so long, he deserves this. 

“So, are you from around here?” Alex asks, dipping his biscotti in Michael’s latte, giving him a playful smirk as he does, loving the way Michael barks out a laugh for his daring. 

Michael gives a nod of his head. “We came here when I was really young, my Mom and I. Once we settled in Albuquerque, we didn’t really leave other than when I got into a few special schools when I was a kid.” When Alex raises his brow to ask more, Michael clears his throat. “My IQ registers pretty high, but it’s just book smarts, right? Fuck knows I haven’t been able to use common sense to get ahead in life,” he quips. “And it definitely hasn’t helped me in the relationship department.”

“So, you moved to Albuquerque when you were little and you haven’t left?” Alex feels like there has to be more - a man with his potential sticking put in one place, never venturing elsewhere seems like a waste. “You never wanted to travel, see the world?”

Michael shrugs, like he hasn’t really thought much about it. “My extended family’s all here. We settled in Albuquerque, so I’ve got a bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles,” he says, staring down at his lap as his face falls. “I don’t really have my Mom anymore, so it’s nice to have that kind of support in town. No reason to leave it, as far as I’m concerned.”

“What about where you were born? Your history?”

Michael scoffs, shaking his head like Alex just made a joke. “Yeah, definitely not going back there. Things are rough back in the old world.” 

Alex gets that. He might have a tentative truce going on with his father, but it doesn’t mean he’s driving back to Roswell on a weekly basis to have dinner with him. If it weren’t for his mother, he thinks he wouldn’t go back at all, but she’s still there and Alex adores her. 

“Your father?” Alex asks, thoughts of Jesse nudging his mind in that direction. 

Michael shakes his head, but while his smile is sad, he doesn’t look pained. “Someone I never knew,” he admits. “Mom used to tell me stories, but we lost him when I was a baby. Accident,” he says, shrugging as he sips his latte. “I guess some people miss what they never had, but I miss my Mom more.” 

“What happened to her?”

“We don’t know,” Michael confesses. “Technically, she’s still a missing persons case. When I was seventeen, I came home one night and she was just gone.” He sounds hopeless and dejected, to the point that Alex feels like despite the case staying open, Michael’s given up on seeing his mother again. “The extended family came in to take care of me, but I was already a year into college at UNM.” He gestures around him. “I guess I haven’t gone far, because some idiot part of me kept hoping that something would turn up if I stayed.”

This feels really heavily weighted for a first date conversation, so Alex needs to do something before he tanks this date. 

“I should take you on a road trip,” he says. “Grand Canyon isn’t that far from here, or maybe Red Rocks, in Colorado Springs,” he says. He’d spent some time there in the early days in the Air Force. 

Michael looks up at him, the sadness in his eyes not quite extinguished. The hopeful curve of his lips upwards is a good sign, though. Hand curling around his latte, he lets his gaze slide over Alex considerately.

“You really want to spend all that time in a car with me?”

“Just putting it out there,” Alex replies casually. 

“I don’t even know _you_ ,” Michael teases, leaning forward on his forearms so that he’s closer to Alex than before, his curls falling in his eyes. 

Tentatively, Alex reaches out to take one of them between two fingers, gently pushing it back. Michael’s head moves with it, his eyes closing, and he drags a shaky breath in between his parted lips as Alex’s thumb brushes Michael’s overly warm temple.

Alex is beginning to learn some things -- for instance, Michael’s from here and he’s extremely touch sensitive. 

That is amazing information to know.

“I lost my leg in combat,” Alex shares, “I’m a Captain the Air Force, which I think you probably already know from Google.” Michael finally opens his eyes, once Alex has pushed the errant strand of hair back in place. Gone is the sadness, replaced by a glittering mischief and warmth. “I’m originally from Roswell, but enlisted at eighteen to get away. I worked in codebreaking and after the injury, I could re-up or take the out.”

He doesn’t need to explain past that.

“UNM gave me a job and a whole list of extracurriculars to fill my time.”

Michael laughs softly into his latte, wiping a small bit of froth from off his lower lip as he puts the cup down. “And of all the mentor sessions, in all the schools, you walked into mine.” 

The reference doesn’t slip by him. “You like old movies?”

“Love ‘em,” Michael admits. “Stuff from the 1940’s, I don’t know. I love the effortless charm, the grace, the panache. It’s a lot better than romance these days where you live and die by Tinder. One of my cousins, she’s made me three different profiles over the years because my chat-up lines are kind of bad and I keep burning my options.”

“How bad?” Alex asks warily. 

“Well,” he says, digging out his phone, turning it to Alex to show a conversation with a tall redheaded firefighter named Christian, who has freckles all over his body. He’s shirtless in his photo, buff, and holding a puppy.

Alex hates him on sight.

He puts that aside as Michael delves into their chat history and Alex can see Michael’s opening gambit. _What’s your sine?_ followed by Firefighter Christian’s reply of _???_ followed by nothing at all. 

“You’re right, they are the worst,” he says. “Also, sin f.”

“What?”

“Single-precision floating-point format,” he says, his smile building as he feels his heart pounding, loving that he can answer this. “What, you don’t know anything about 32-bit programming?”

“I guess I still have some things I need to learn,” Michael replies.

Alex is praying that Michael is talking about learning about him. 

He’s filled with disappointment when he drinks the last of his tea, and the last bite of his biscotti is gone, which means that the date is coming to an end. It’s also dark outside, which means they’ve been here long enough that Alex missed the sun going down. He checks his watch and remembers the assignment for his Monday group that awaits grading.

“I should be going,” he says mournfully, already wishing he’d graded the papers that morning so he could sit here and talk with Michael for hours.

Luckily, Michael doesn’t seem put out by it. “Yeah, of course,” he agrees. “Time doesn’t stop for professors, right?” He stands and waits for Alex, pressing a hand to the small of his back as he leads him towards the exit, picking up Alex’s backpack to carry with them. Once they’re outside, Alex slides into his jacket, which moves Michael’s hand off him.

If it weren’t so cold, he wouldn’t have bothered.

Even as it stands, he misses the intense heat of Michael’s palm on his back, the jacket a poor substitute. 

“Let me walk you home,” Michael offers suddenly, when Alex turns to look down the sidewalk in the direction he needs to go in. He’s still holding onto Alex’s backpack, but then seems to realize that by holding it, he’s also keeping Alex hostage.

Awkwardly, he shoves it back towards Alex, who takes it with an easy smile as he slides the straps onto his back. He appreciates the gesture a lot, seeing as Michael’s not holding onto it and forcing Alex to go with him.

“I’m five blocks this way,” he says, sliding the backpack onto his shoulder as they start walking.

The night is cool, but thankfully dry. It doesn’t make his leg ache the way it had when he’d first had it removed and the humidity had caused him to suffer through nights where he thought he’d beg for them to take more off, just so he wouldn’t have to feel that pain. Still, Michael slows down with him so they don’t walk too quickly.

“You settling in okay? When’d you get back?”

“Four months ago,” Alex replies, knowing that he’s also taking his time before the slower he walks, the longer this date can go. “It’s a nice place,” he admits, “but eventually, I’d love to find an actual house.”

“Set down roots?”

Alex nods as he considers UNM and his future. “Yeah,” he admits, giving Michael a sidelong glance in the moonlight, filled with a buoyant hope. “UNM seems really promising. Great school, plenty of classes, and the city’s nice,” he says, as his eyes rake over Michael’s body. “Other things about this place are nice, too.” 

It’s perfect timing. Alex stops outside the brick freestanding townhome he’s renting, raising both brows, as if to say, _this is me_.

“Yeah?” Michael replies with a teasing warmth in his voice. “How nice?

 _Golden_ , he wants to say, at the way Michael’s hair is warm under the streetlights. _Radiant_ , is another word. 

“The kind of nice that comes with meeting someone like you,” he says, putting himself out there in a way he hasn’t in years -- definitely not since the accident. Michael hasn’t judged him for it, doesn’t treat him any differently. 

Screw nice.

Setting down roots in UNM where Michael Guerin is seems like the only logical future for him when he’s feeling like this. Alex stares at Michael through the darkness, feeling this impossible connection that doesn’t make any sense. It’s only the second time they’ve met and their first date, but Alex feels like there’s something deeper between them. 

If he were like some of his students who relied heavily on their astrology reports, he might say it’s a cosmic connection, with the planets rising in his favor. 

Whatever it is, he doesn’t want it to go anywhere.

“What the hell is it about you?” Alex wonders, his incredulity exhaled into a small cloud of breath in the cold, evaporating into nothingness and leaving just Michael beyond it to focus on in disbelief. “How do I feel so…”

“Right?” Michael finishes the sentence for him, looking as stunned as Alex feels. “Fuck if I know, but I feel it too.” His fist is squeezed over his heart and he pounds it there like a heartbeat. “I feel you, in here, like I was supposed to meet you, like I haven’t felt alive until I talked to you.”

This is romance novel bullshit. Alex shouldn’t fall for it.

Funny how he’s hurtling towards the ground anyway.

He tugs on the strap of his backpack to pull it off, letting it dangle in his fingers as he steps towards Michael, tentative as he sways forward. For all that he feels like they fit, there’s something nerve-wracking about taking this step. The soft thud of fabric on the sidewalk is the last thing in his way before he steps into Michael’s space, cupping his cheek with one hand, grabbing at his neck with the other and hauling him in.

They don’t crash together because it’s like there’s a perfect fit. Michael’s lips find Alex’s and his hands grab at his body -- one at his back, the other tangled in his hair. There’s a desperation in the way Michael moves, kisses him, whimpers that makes Alex hungry for more, as if he’s a starving man who needs this, only this.

When Michael dares to ease back even a millimeter, Alex chases him. 

They end up stumbling a little until Michael’s heels knock against the concrete step leading up to Alex’s townhome, and he braces himself, squeezing Alex a little tighter as he hauls him in, coaxing Alex up to his tiptoes to kiss Michael with all his soul, all his heart, and all his energy.

Eventually, though, he needs to breathe.

Raggedly, he draws away, but doesn’t move far. He presses his forehead to Michael’s as he cups his cheeks, thumbs brushing along the sides of Michael’s face, tender and careful, like he’s a delicate thing that Alex can’t break.

“Okay,” Michael breathes out, and Alex can hear the way his breath is labored, the same as his. “Yeah.” 

Alex is speechless too, his eyes still half-closed as the light from the streetlamp makes Michael seem serene and incandescent. He’s inhuman in the most angelic of ways, and Alex doesn’t want to move, even though grading papers await. 

“Come to dinner with me?” Michael asks softly, a question that Alex swears he can taste, with Michael so close and speaking so softly and intimately.

There’s nothing in the world that could stop Alex.

“Of course,” he breathes out, knowing that he’d move heaven and hell to have that dinner with him. They’ve only shared the one kiss, but there’s something about their date that makes Alex feel old-fashioned. “I’d invite you in, but I have the feeling you don’t put out on the first date.” He extricates himself from Michael slowly, even if it’s torture to do it.

The warmth from Michael’s body is gone in a flash once he steps away and Alex stifles his disappointed whimper at its absence.

“You’d be right,” Michael agrees. “The second too, which is what this is.”

Alex gives him a confused look.

“[The night we met was the first date](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047291/chapters/68710791).”

“Debatable,” Alex argues stubbornly. 

“Yeah, but I put out on the third date,” Michael replies, brushing a strand of Alex’s hair back from his forehead, causing him to inhale sharply at the warm touch. “So, was the night we met our first date or not?”

Alex feels like his voice is gone, stolen by a wicked and evil thing, as he croaks out, “It counts.”

Michael steps back, right in the spotlight of one of the lamps from the street. “I’ll text you details about the restaurant,” he promises. “Friday work?”

Still feeling a little unsteady, Alex nods, not trusting his voice.

Michael touches two fingers to his lower lip, rubbing it for a moment as he stares at Alex, without blinking, and then laughs softly. “Goodnight, Alex Manes,” he says, his eyes still dreamy and a soft sigh on his lips. “I can’t wait to see you again for our third date.”

“Goodnight, Michael Guerin,” Alex replies, now that he’s finally found his voice. “I’ll see you Friday.”

Maybe, by then, he’ll be a person again and that kiss won’t still be the cause of his undoing. Then again, Friday is still a few days away and that means he can _dream_ about it from now until then.

And fuck, but he’s praying that he will.


	2. The Third Date

Friday, it turns out, feels like it’s decades away, but finally, Alex has made it to the end of the week. Within hours, he’ll be at dinner with Michael, but right now, he’s setting up questions for the midterm so he won’t have to think about it all weekend.

At least, until the knock at his door.

Alex glances up warily. It could be one of his students trying to squeeze themselves in even though he’s not holding office hours. It could be another faculty member here to chat. It could also be Michael, coming to see him before their date, but would he visit him before?

“Come in,” he allows, trying to stamp on his hope.

“Here he is, at last. Professor Manes. I thought I’d find you here, but I am surprised to find you alone, seeing as a little birdie told me that Dr. Guerin is sniffing around these halls.”

Well, it isn’t Michael, but at least it’s the next best thing.

Alex looks up to see Maria standing there in one of her ridiculous fur coats, smirking at him like she’s got a secret she can’t wait to share. “Hello to you too, Maria,” he greets, wondering why one of his friends from Roswell made the trip up here. 

He’s not upset to see her. If anything, it’s the opposite. Since he’s been so busy settling into the new job, he hasn’t been able to go home as often as he’d like. There’s also the part where going home inevitably means that his mother will want to see him and he adores her, but that also means _Jesse_. 

The less time spent with his abusive father, the better.

He’s on his feet as quickly as he can manage to yank her into a delighted hug, burying his face in her neck before he eases back, hand on her shoulder to balance himself. “What little birdie have you been talking to?” he wonders, because Alex definitely hasn’t texted anything to her about his burgeoning romance.

It feels almost like he might jinx it, by telling anyone else that it exists. 

“Oh, you know. Five foot ten, curly hair, wears too much of that fresh rain cologne.” Maria’s lips are curving up in amusement. “I know Guerin,” she says, taking pity on his confusion. “I dated him for a little,” she tells him. “Remember that summer that I left Roswell and did a spiritual loop around the state when I was twenty?” Alex does, and now he’s struggling to recall her stories from that summer. 

It clicks a moment later.

“Guerin’s your Hottie Cowboy?” he asks.

Maria gives a happy hum. “He was a very fun distraction that summer, even if we don’t want the same things long term,” she admits. “I thought I’d come up here and tell you how perfect he is for you, though. Especially seeing as he’s the reason I know that you two got coffee together, what with his raving texts to me about the handsome new professor he’s met who gets his awful pick-up lines.”

She may have given him the puzzle pieces, but he’s struggling to put the last few items together, suddenly fearful he might fall into the same pitfalls. 

“Why didn’t you two work out?”

“I like a man who’s a little more willing to take control,” Maria says. “He’s a sweet guy and crazy smart, but the reason why things didn’t work out for me also happens to be why things are going to go so well for you. For a while, it was nice having him fall in line on everything, but eventually I figured out that he was only trying to please me and would always shut me down when I tried to do the same, because that’s not what he wanted. I don’t know, I think we just missed the chance to really connect, being young and stubborn as we were. He was also going through some pretty heavy stuff back then, but that was ages ago. He’s _perfect_ for you, especially in bed,” she praises. “Such a good bottom,” she says, her hand over her heart. 

“Wait, how do you know this?” he asks, reaching for his tea to take a sip.

“We bought a strap on,” Maria answers guilelessly, shrugging. “I fucked him into the mattress and I’ve never seen him so happy or sobbing for more. It illuminated that we weren’t exactly sexually compatible, long term, aside from the fact he never seemed to open up to me emotionally.”

She’s got perfect timing, as ever.

Alex coughs out the tea, droplets all over one of his students’ papers. Well, at least it had only been a C-minus effort to begin with. 

“TMI,” he protests. “Why are you telling me this?” 

She perches on the edge of her desk and grabs him by the chin. “Because you’re my friend, I love you, and he’s _perfect_ for you. He wants to be good for someone, be there for you, be what you need, and trust me, I wish that had worked in the long run, but we’re still good enough friends. Besides, thanks to you, I’m happily dating a hot doctor, so it’s my turn to get you set up for a good time.”

She digs out her cell phone, clearing her throat as she brings up a text chain.

“Maria,” she recites, reading from the top. “Do you believe in fate? Magic? Stupidly hot Air Force captains who just drop into your lap, even if he hasn’t been in my lap yet? There’s this guy, Alex Manes, and I think he’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” She looks over the top of her phone to smirk at him. “Accompanied by a few fire emojis.” When Alex doesn’t seem to believe her, she turns the phone to him so they can keep reading Michael’s texts. “The things I want him to do to me, fuck, and then, so many eggplants. So, so many, and aw, look, one little lone Michael Guerin peach.”

By the end, Alex might as well be a tomato for the color on his face, jaw dropped as he realizes that it’s not one-sided and that Michael feels it too.

“What did you _do_ to him?” she asks, tucking away the phone, clearly delighted and enthralled.

“We just went for coffee after we talked!” he protests. “I didn’t do anything! I’m not magic,” he scoffs. “And we kissed,” he confesses, “and it felt like no one’s kissed me properly before, like until he got his lips on mine, it was just practice.”

Maria gives him a fond look. “You’re a goner,” she announces. “I’m so happy for you, Alex,” she vows, reaching over to squeeze his hand. 

“You’re not upset? Bros before hos or whatever?”

“It was eight years ago, we didn’t work out, and I promise that Kyle’s abs have erased most memories of other men,” Maria promises. “Also, please let me tell Guerin you called him a ho.”

“Maria! Maria, don’t!”

She’s laughing wickedly as she pulls the phone away from him, tapping a message that has Alex getting frantic. “Guerin, I dropped by to talk to Alex,” she narrates. “He can’t wait to see you for your next date, and says that you’re a professional kisser. Better keep that gold medal game up.” The whooshing send sound and the proof that what she typed doesn’t have the word ‘ho’ anywhere in it calms him.

Slightly.

Who knows what she might send later?

“What are you wearing for this thing?” she asks. “I didn’t drive all the way up here just to give you a hard time.” 

Alex glances at the clock, then down to what he’s wearing right now. There’s a guilty look on his face, because he didn’t bring a change of clothes with him and the restaurant is in the opposite direction of campus. It means either he’ll be late for dinner, or he’s going to show up wearing what he’s already in, which isn’t much more than a plain shirt and pair of pants.

Maria’s been his friend long enough to know what the look on his face means.

“You’re lucky you’re hot,” is all she says. 

He doesn’t feel so hot right now, shaking a hand through his hair. Maria takes pity on him and extends the crutch out to him, but he waves it away. “No, I’m good,” he says, feeling like it’s time to go without it.

“Where are you meeting him?”

“Little Italian place,” he says, ducking to look at himself in the mirror, licking his palm and trying to get a cowlick to behave. It won’t, no matter what he does, and he doesn’t know why he’s so frustrated. “It’s on Bennet Avenue, can you look it up for me?”

Ever the good friend, she finds him the address and fixes his hair with some kind of magic (mainly spit that he’s going to try not to think about too hard). 

“Go,” Maria encourages. “Impress him. I like seeing the both of you happy.”

Alex grabs his bag, waits until she’s out of the office, and then heads out after he locks up. The restaurant is too close to drive to, but his haste to get there means that he’s aching a little by the time he arrives, regretting not using the crutch because honestly, tonight’s going to be one hell of a rough night.

Or maybe not.

It’s date number three, after all.

If Alex counts their first meeting at the mentor clinic, and the coffee as the second, then after dinner tonight, Michael might put out. Maybe Alex could also convince him to massage Alex’s leg, seeing as now that he’s started to fantasize about the idea, he can’t get it out of his head. Michael’s strong fingers pushing into his skin…

That fantasy comes to a grinding halt when Alex remembers the deep scarring that’s on his leg. 

Maybe tonight will be date number three, but after the pants come off, Michael won’t want anything to do with him. That’s a worry for later, because Alex has vowed not to self-sabotage and ruin the date before they even get started. He’s really trying, and it helps to think about the kiss again, instead of his fears.

The restaurant that Michael found is called Il Vicino and smells of warm pizza out of the oven the moment Alex walks in. 

“Hi, uh, here to join Michael Guerin?” he tells the host, ducking to look at his hair in the reflection of nearby glass, trying to fix a few cowlicks, last minute, wishing he’d checked the time when he’d been chatting with Maria. 

He looks rushed and out of breath and he definitely wishes he’d had time to change out of the mustard yellow button-down he’s wearing. Even with the leather jacket on top to dress it up, he fears he looks like he’s on his way to a bowling alley.

“Of course, sir, he’s at the back, by the window.”

Alex ducks around chairs, cautious not to hurry or put his foot down in an awkward position. He’s still getting used to the prosthetic and he often finds himself needing some extra time to stabilize himself.

“Hey! Sorry I’m late, a friend came by to visit,” Alex says when he arrives at the table, sliding his cross-body bag over the back of the chair. He’s still getting used to not using the crutch, so he’s swaying a little more than he’d like, but Michael reaches out to press a hand to his hip when he wobbles, steadying him. “Thanks,” he says warmly. “Actually, you know her too.”

“Your friend?” Michael asks, gesturing to the table. “I ordered wine, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Alex promises, settling in. “Maria DeLuca. Ring a bell?”

Michael coughs into his mostly full wine glass, and though there’s a candle on the table, it’s not nearly enough heat to give Michael a reason to suddenly flush like that. Alex smiles, heart pounding, and he thinks that maybe Maria had been telling the truth about Michael’s proclivities. 

“Um, yeah, I knew her when we were twenty,” Michael stammers. “We dated for two months. How’s she doing?”

“Good,” Alex responds calmly, laying out his napkin on his lap. “She heard that we were dating because you kept talking to her about me. She came to give me her thorough approval, not to mention some tips about something you might like.”

Michael’s staring at him, not blinking, and Alex decides he’s going to put him out of his misery.

“Things that you’d enjoy in the bedroom.” 

Michael hasn’t found his voice yet, so Alex decides to keep going.

“She also showed me a very interesting text history.”

Alex is fairly sure that the red in Michael’s cheeks isn’t just the reflection of the tablecloth, seeing as he’d been just fine a moment earlier. He’s feeling confident and bright, like he has the upper hand for once, and he can’t help the way he’s delightfully smug about it. All his earlier worries fade away almost instantly in light of Michael’s adorable reaction.

“She knows that’s private, right?”

Alex gives him a dubious look. “Tell me she hasn’t texted you photos of our trip to Cabo.”

“I can’t,” Michael says sunnily, leaning forward to take hold of Alex’s hand in his own, dragging it back across the table. His teasing mood has evaporated, though, as he leans forward to look at Alex with a serious inclination, and suddenly Alex feels worried. “That trip was a while ago, wasn’t it? No crutch,” he says, which is short-hand for ‘you had both your legs’.

He doesn’t say it like Alex was hotter then, and he doesn’t even put sympathy into the words like most people would.

“It was a while ago, but my ass still looks dynamite in a tight swimsuit, from what I’ve been told,” Alex tries to flirt, but can’t ignore the way his heart is pounding.

Given where Michael’s thumb is brushing against his pulse-point on his wrist, it’s likely that he hasn’t missed it either. He gives Alex a small smile, and lifts his palm to press a kiss there. “I don’t care how many limbs you have,” he tells him. “I just care that you’re here and I got a chance to have this _third_ dinner with you.” He says it so pointedly, so calmly, and yet the way he smirks shows how thrilled he is to share that with him.

It’s what Alex needs.

The laugh that comes from him startles him slightly, but the tension breaks. “You’re still sticking to this being the third date, huh?”

“I’m still putting out on third dates, so yeah,” Michael confirms, nodding as he stares at Alex across the table, gesturing for Alex to pour himself some wine from the bottle that the waiter’s brought around.

“So, Maria says that the two of you didn’t exactly work because of uh, compatibility issues?”

Michael shakes his head, drinking back red wine until it stains his lips. “Is this you asking me whether I like to pitch or catch, Professor Manes? I thought she would’ve told you that already.”

“She did,” Alex admits, not wanting to lie or beat around the bush. “It’s one thing to hear it from a mutual friend and another to hear it from the man himself. I don’t know about you, but seeing as it’s the third date and you’re putting out, I want to make sure that I know exactly what it is you want so I can give it to you.”

Even after the accident, Alex’s preferences in the bedroom haven’t changed and a little of it slips out now. It’s that domineering tone in his voice, the strong and confident way he holds his shoulders back and his chin high. If they’re going to end up together in bed tonight, he wants to make it clear that he intends to take care of Michael.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m a true anything,” Michael admits, tapping his fingers over Alex’s palm. “If we’re talking majority rules, then yeah, I’m on the bottom,” he goes on, catching Alex’s gaze with a smirk, lifting his palm to press a kiss there. “Somehow, I feel like that’s not a problem for you.”

“Nope,” Alex confirms. “That should work pretty well.”

“I also like being the little spoon,” Michael adds, twirling the spoon on the table like he needs to reinforce the concept, which makes Alex laugh. “What?” Michael asks.

“You’re assuming I’m planning to stay the night. I’m surprised you’re not taking my breakfast order.”

Michael raises his brow, then checks his watch. “Stop jumping ahead in this conversation. Me asking how you take your eggs is a question I ask over espresso,” he says, and while his voice is light and filled with warmth, there’s no joking edge to it.

Alex’s breath catches in his throat as he realizes that oh, Michael wants to have him over to be had, to have, to hold, and then to spoil in the morning.

“I want to make it clear that this isn’t just sex for me,” Michael says, serious as anything. “I waited until the third date because I don’t want to be a one-night stand for you. I don’t want to be something that you forget. I’m looking for something real at this point in my life and I get the feeling that it could be you. What about you?”

There’s a hitch in his voice, a sign of nerves that, strangely, makes Alex feel relieved. It looks like he’s not the only one nervous about the evening. 

In one fell swoop, Michael’s exposed his vulnerabilities, scared of what Alex might say. 

He doesn’t have to be, luckily. “I left one-night stands back before my overseas tours,” Alex admits. “I want to settle down, take a real job, meet new friends, and start a life. It’s why I’m searching for a place to buy, it’s why I’m planning a future, and it’s why I only want to date men that I think I could have something serious with.”

That seems to be the right answer, because it unlocks Michael’s smile, making him beam at Alex across the table.

“Good,” Michael says, nodding eagerly. “Good,” he repeats, with a relieved laugh as he shakes his head, like he can’t quite believe that Alex is on the same page as him.

Alex gets it. He’s still waiting for someone to pinch him and tell him that this is all a dream he’s expected to wake up from.

“So, more wine,” Michael encourages, “and I think we should probably get to that getting to know you part of the date before I end up getting a little too wine-tipsy and start playing footsie with you under this table.” 

Alex pouts a little, because since when is that off the table?

“Or, we could do both?” Michael suggests, like he’s been taken off guard by Alex’s reaction. 

Alex reaches for the bottle of red to top up both their glasses and leans over to tap Michael’s shoe with the tip of his left foot, nodding encouragingly. “I might put out on the third date too, but usually not in a public restaurant. Keep it PG.” 

Michael laughs warmly, but he nods and goes along with it. Luckily, the waiter returns before they can make this date any more mature than it already is. They end up ordering two specials and the waiter’s presence (if only brief) helps to calm the mood between them. 

They end up talking shop about their classes until the food arrives, which is good because it settles Alex down. He’s really not a fan of getting super horny and then thinking about his students, so it’s a good way to calm himself. 

By the time they finish their food, the conversation has mostly dropped off. Rather than talk, Michael is busy staring at Alex’s lips, an expression on his face like he has a plan. 

“I guess we’re not doing espresso here after all,” Alex says, dabbing his napkin at the corners of his lips as he sets it on the table, signalling for the check. 

Michael gives him a sheepish look like he’s been found out, but he also doesn’t seem very upset about it. 

“It’s on me,” Michael insists, when the check comes out, already digging out his credit card. Alex opens his mouth to argue, but Michael grabs the bill-fold when it arrives. “No, seriously, no arguments. I’ve been working at the university for a while and you’re settling in, so this one is my treat. I know there’ll be more chances.”

“You know?” Alex echoes, as the waiter takes the card away to be processed.

“Do you want me to be less than optimistic and say that I hope?” Michael stares him down, his eyes soft. “I don’t want to hope, Alex. I want to know.” 

When the card comes back, he signs the bill and tucks his wallet away. 

“Yeah,” Alex admits, suddenly feeling vulnerable and seen all at once. “I know there’ll be other dinners too.”

“Cool,” Michael says, offering his arm out to Alex as he stands. “Shall we?” 

Alex nods, letting Michael lead him outside the restaurant. From here, they could go their separate ways. They could grab different cars and make arrangements for another date. 

That’s not what Alex wants to do. He’s pretty sure neither of them actually intend for that to happen.

“So,” Alex says, standing under the restaurant’s awning. It’s been a good night and he’s not ready for it to be over. 

It’s especially _hard_ because all that talk about sexual preferences and what they both like has left Alex with a semi and a hell of a lot of ideas about what he’d like to do to Michael. They’d talked, of course, about how Michael puts out on the third date, but they haven’t gotten into the logistics of that.

Where they’re going, what they want to do, and that’s what’s still on the table.

Michael gives him an amused look. “So?” he prods. “Cat got your tongue?”

No, but he wouldn’t mind if Michael managed to get it.

“Do you want to come back to my place for a drink?” Alex offers, feeling comfortable to do that now that he’s unpacked and turned his townhome into a presentable home and not just the sad bachelor pad that it was when he’d moved in. “Maybe that dessert that we just declined.”

“Please tell me you’re dessert,” Michael pleads.

“I’m not,” is Alex’s calm reply. 

Michael’s face falls, which is a shame that he’s lost hope so quickly.

Alex is ready to lift that hope up instantly. “ _You_ are.” 

That seems to get Michael’s hope back in the game. His eyes light up and he smiles in a beautifully precious way that has Alex’s heart pounding in his chest. It’s a cheesy line, and he knows it, but it’s also seeming to do the trick. Michael steps in towards Alex, the tip of his nose brushing up against Alex’s neck, his breath hot against the skin near his ear. 

“Is that an invitation?”

“Depends on what you think I’m inviting you for.”

Michael bites his lip, something Alex barely sees given that Michael is so close that it takes his peripheral vision in order to see the blurry edge of it. “I want to come back to yours, but for a hell of a lot more than a drink, if that’s on the table. Is it?”

Wordlessly, Alex nods. 

“And your place is how far from this place?” Michael mumbles, fidgeting with the collar of Alex’s shirt. 

It’s too far, which is the honest answer. Realistically, “Nine blocks,” he says, beyond campus and probably a good fifteen minutes walk. 

Michael drifts back so that Alex can see the way he nods with firm conviction. “Okay,” he says. “Let’s go.”

They manage to behave themselves all the way back to Alex’s place, with both of them walking side by side. Occasionally, Michael’s fingers brush Alex’s, but apart from the way it makes him suck in a sharp breath of air, Alex stays composed and calm. 

That composure falls apart the second they’re inside the front hallway of Alex’s place. The bedroom isn’t that far off, and Alex is trying his very best to behave, but it’s getting more difficult by the second the longer Michael is in Alex’s townhome and _isn’t_ naked. He gives Michael a light push towards the bedroom, on the first floor, and drops his backpack and his jacket in a heap at his locked door. 

“Tell me if things are okay,” Alex says, before he even puts a hand on Michael. “If anything isn’t what you like, _tell me_.” 

Michael’s already nodding, yanking his shoes and socks off, but not touching anything else. He keeps glancing over his shoulder, Orpheus breaking all the rules to make sure Eurydice is following. When he’s sure that Alex is there, he crawls onto the bed, lying there on top of Alex’s dark silk sheets. 

He’s a vision, lying there on Alex’s bed in his jeans, that huge belt buckle beckoning at his waist, his button-down (undone to the third) and his dark blazer drawing attention to his chest. It makes Alex’s fingers ache to touch, especially given how _long_ it’s been.

No one’s touched Alex since his accident.

Alex hasn’t touched anyone since, but he’s had fantasies.

Yet, _none_ of them compare to the thoughts and fantasies and dreams he’s had about Michael. Now that Michael is laid out on Alex’s bed, he wants this. Maria’s words echo in his mind and he thinks about what Michael had been like with her, hoping that his preferences haven’t changed too much, because Alex has a plan.

He’s going to take control, he’s going to give the orders, and he’s going to make sure Michael enjoys every moment of this. 

“Off,” Alex barks, gesturing to the belt. “I want to watch you take it off.”

Michael nods frantically, his fingers practically a blur as they yank off the belt. He arches his back in a glorious arc off the bed that makes Alex want to grab him with both hands at the small of his back to make divots with his fingers, but he watches as he settles on a chair next to the bed, throwing his shoes into a messy pile with his socks. 

The first hint of the prosthetic flashes in the light, but Michael’s attention is fixed on Alex’s eyes instead. Alex pushes to his feet and crawls onto the bed, grabbing hold of the blazer with two fistfuls of fabric at the shoulders, shoving it off him. 

Michael wriggles to get out before throwing it in a pile on the floor.

“It’ll wrinkle,” Alex warns breathlessly, when he looks to it in the middle of biting, frantic kisses.

Michael lets out a huff of disbelieving laughter. “That is the _last_ thing I care about.”

Good, because Alex doesn’t give a shit either. He lets his fingers slide down to start unbuttoning Michael’s shirt the rest of the way, smirking because he already got a hell of a head start with the way that Michael’s popped the first three. 

“Hey,” Michael says roughly, his palms sliding over Alex’s sides. “Supplies?” Michael ekes out, but Alex is already on it.

The drawer beside the bed has been left haphazardly open from Alex’s earlier check. He leans over to grab the lube and condom and drops them on the rumpled duvet cover. 

Alex grabs Michael’s face for one last passionate kiss, settling onto his back on the bed opposite Michael. “I want you to take my shirt off,” he instructs, his words soft and steely. He’s nervous as hell about what’s about to happen, because it’s the first time he’s slept with someone since the accident, and he wants it to be good. “And then, I want you to take off my pants and I’ll show you how we take the prosthetic off.”

He swallows, trying to shove his nerves down, even if it feels like a losing battle. 

“Last chance to run,” he tells Michael, figuring he owes him that much.

Michael’s brow furrows with confusion, crawling to his knees to start helping with Alex’s shirt, rubbing his thumb against each button before he pries it off, guiding Alex to sit up slightly so he can tug it off. “Run where?” he whispers.

“To another bed without an amputee in it?” Alex hates the bitterness in his voice, but he knows he’s not the cream of the crop, not anymore.

Michael shakes his head, biting back a smile. “Beds without Alex Manes in them,” he scoffs. “Ridiculous beds, pointless ones.”

His hands are on Alex’s pants now, having undone the button and zipper, helping to slowly guide them off. Alex watches Michael the whole time, keeping a hold of his eye contact while his chest pounds with an affection and a gratitude that he didn’t know he could feel. 

No one’s ever wanted him like this before. 

Alex isn’t sure what to do with all these emotions Michael’s making him feel. He’s not naked because he’s still got his boxer-briefs on, but given that Michael can see the stump and his prosthetic, Alex thinks he might as well be.

He’s completely vulnerable, on display, and he watches Michael’s face like a hawk, waiting for any sign that he wants to bolt. 

It never comes.

Michael’s looking at him expectantly, still breathing a little raggedly. “C’mon, don’t leave me hanging,” he murmurs, as his fingers absently tease at the sock and the prosthetic, eyes wide. “You’re really not gonna leave me with engineering blue balls, are you?”

The quip breaks the mood, making Alex’s shoulders shake with laughter. “What?” he protests, not sure he heard that right.

“You’re teasing me, all this talk about looking at your prosthetic and seeing how it works,” Michael mumbles, leaning in to press slow kisses down the line of Alex’s neck, nipping every third kiss, almost as if to make Alex squirm and hiss with delight. “You should know that hinges and carbon fiber and sockets get me going.”

He doesn’t have to do this, but Alex’s eyes are cloudy with tears from how _grateful_ he is that Michael’s not making a big deal of the fact that Alex isn’t like other men.

“Here,” he says, pressing a palm to Michael’s so they can work on loosening the prosthetic and getting it disconnected. The mood has already started to rebound, especially given how close they are for this.

It completely resets when Michael lovingly guides the prosthetic off and sets it on the nightstand, bending over to press a kiss to the scarred tissue that’s revealed when he slides the sock off.

Alex’s inhalation trembles with a surprised shake, gaping at Michael and pressing a hand to the top of his curls, not to keep him there, but to ground himself. 

“I am going to look at that later,” Michael warns, as he climbs back towards Alex, cupping his cheeks as he bears him back into the bed with a kiss, “but you are way more intoxicating and I want to touch you so much more than I want to get my hands on that prosthetic, which is saying a lot.”

It almost feels like a dream that this beautiful man wants him so badly, three-quarters of a man and all. “Take that lube,” Alex instructs Michael, his voice steely even if he feels like any minute he’ll falter and this whole thing will fall apart. “And I want you to prepare yourself with three fingers. Then, you’re going to ride me until you come. Got it?”

Michael soaks up the orders like a flower in drought receiving a rainstorm. It’s intoxicating to Alex, both to be proven right about Maria’s stories and to see it firsthand. Michael works efficiently, like there’s no time to waste. 

Maybe there isn’t.

Alex has been thinking about this all afternoon, and if he has to wait any longer, he might lose all his patience and end up grabbing Michael by the curls, slamming him into a pillow, and fucking him no matter how awkward it is without his prosthetic on. Luckily, they don’t have to worry about that, since Michael’s ready, reaching for Alex’s cock to slick him up, offering some relief to his painfully hard situation.

“Ride you until I come,” Michael echoes Alex’s orders, his voice rough with want. 

Alex nods as he gathers pillows behind him, sliding up the bed so he can support himself and watch Michael all the same. People sometimes don’t get that you can be dominant in the bedroom and still give your partner _everything_ they crave. Before he lost his leg, Alex could walk into a club and own the place. He’d never really been a boyfriend guy, but he was all about the one-night stand.

Everything changed with the accident and his departure from the Air Force, until tonight, until now, until _Michael_. 

“Easy,” Alex warns, his voice soothing but firm as Michael settles, one hand cupping Alex’s neck and the other his shoulder to offer leverage as he slides down onto Alex’s cock and he’s _so_ fucking warm. 

Alex has never fucked anything so hot before, and he’s not just talking about how good Michael looks with his curls matted with sweat, long on his forehead as he sinks down onto Alex. He’s _warm_ as Alex rocks his hips into him, in a way that begs Alex to do it again.

“Michael,” Alex gasps, “Fuck.”

“Doing good, huh?” Michael breathlessly replies, straining to kiss the corner of Alex’s lips. It’s there he mumbles, “Now what?” as he keeps rolling his hips, doing the work for them as Alex’s brain short-circuits and he forgets the English language, never mind what comes next.

Michael, his brain reminds him. Touch him. 

Alex fumbles to get a hand in, which sends them crashing back on the bed from a lack of balance. He should collapse back against the pillows, but he feels something catch him. Alex doesn’t pay much mind to it, because Michael’s hand is there to stop him, it must have been him, right?

(Only, it had felt more like air, and Michael’s hands are busy)

They’re so occupied with each other, Alex tells himself, and he doesn’t want to get distracted. Now what? Well, now, Alex wants to make sure he impresses. He ignores the strangeness of being caught by the pillows and slips his hand in between them to take Michael in hand, his gaze fixed on his eyes as he begins to stroke him in time with the languid thrust of his hips. 

“You like that?”

Michael lets out a throaty noise, but it’s not an answer.

Alex reaches up to grab Michael by the neck, using the hold to thrust a little sharper and harder inside him. He meets his eyes, determined to get a real answer. “Tell me if you like it.”

“I do,” Michael responds breathlessly. “Fuck, yes, I do. Alex,” he whines, pressing his sweaty forehead to Alex’s as he swivels a little, hips rolling and reaching in between them to help coax Alex’s hand along. “ _Please_.” 

“Good boy,” Alex praises.

The way Michael’s eyes widen and his lips part is like a shot of desire straight to Alex’s cock, which twitches inside of Michael, almost like a warning that he’s going to go off if he’s not careful. 

Michael pushes a breath of air out, his cheeks full before he exhales, and moves to lean back against Alex’s knees, working himself down on Alex’s cock in a position that brings Alex into him at a different angle. It’s innovative and it’s creative, and it’s not like Alex said he couldn’t, so he’ll let him get away with it.

This once, at least.

“What’d I tell you to do?” Alex reminds him, gasping for breath as he pushes inside Michael, overwhelmed by his tightness and the heat.

“Ride you…” Michael mumbles. “Ride you until…”

Alex grabs a handful of Michael’s curls and yanks them tightly, pulling him in for a biting, searing kiss, nipping on his lower lip before he lets him go. “Ride me until you come, all over me.”

“ _Alex_!” Michael yelps, and that’s all it takes for Alex. 

Alex drags his fingers over Michael’s shoulder, gripping tightly enough that he sees the flesh give way to small white marks, a hint of Alex’s presence, and that small evidence of a claim is enough to send Alex over the edge a few moments later, giving one last upwards thrust of his hips before he collapses back on the bed of pillows he’s made. 

In this position, lying back, this is how he intends to coax Michael onwards. He adjusts his hips a little, letting his legs fall open as he meets Michael’s gaze. 

He’s blissfully fucked out, but there’s one treat that he’s been eager for all night.

“Go on,” Alex coaxes, voice languid and lazy. He lets his fingertips absently rest on his lower lip, his mouth parted lazily. “Come for me. Come _on_ me.”

Michael mutters something under his breath that sounds like a disbelieving, “Jesus,” as he gets his shaky fingers on his cock, managing to get himself under control even as Alex gives a few lazy thrusts inside of him, not that he’s hard any longer. It doesn’t seem to be necessary, as Michael’s brow furrows and then his lips part with Alex’s name on them.

And fuck him, but Michael Guerin _absolutely_ makes a mess of Alex, as requested.

Between the good food at dinner, the liquor, and the sex, Alex doesn’t mean to drift off, but he wakes to a cool cloth on his chest and Michael cleaning him off. He gives him a sleepy and apologetic smile, not wanting to have seemed like a cheap date. He hadn’t even felt Michael climb off him.

Honestly, he hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep.

“You should stay the night,” Alex murmurs. “I’m not ready to go again, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to. We could have another round first thing when you wake up, at least,” he qualifies, because if Alex gets a good night of sleep and wakes up in Michael’s arms, he thinks he could stand to go for at least one or two. 

“Promise?”

Alex laughs brightly as he wraps his arms around Michael’s waist to bear him into the sheets, nuzzling at his neck. “With all my heart.” 

He’s never, not ever, had a date go so well. He’s never felt so compatible with another person so quickly. With Michael, it had been so stupidly easy, and Maria had been right about him being perfect for Alex. Michael is so quick to respond to praise, so eager to please, and so damn _good_ in so many ways.

He really needs to figure out a way not to fuck this up.

Tightening his hold on Michael, Alex files that away for another day’s worry. 

Tonight went better than he could have ever dreamed and tomorrow he’ll wake up to Michael in his arms and rounds two, three, and luck (and skill) willing, four. 

It’s _perfect_.


	3. Meeting the Parents

On their seventh date, while watching a movie, Alex asks Michael if he wants to come over for Sunday dinner.

“My mom’s been curious about the guy I’ve been seeing,” he explains.

Michael raises a brow. “Is it just her, or is your Dad…?” he trails off, absently letting his fingers drift over Alex’s side, eager to get into his pants. 

“My Dad definitely isn’t as curious, because he tries to ignore the fact that I’m into guys as much as he possibly can,” is Alex’s bitter reply. “Can we not talk about my father when your hand is so close to my dick?”

“Heard.” His fingers still, and Alex lets out a whimpering noise of complaint. “Wait,” Michael says. “You wanna have the handjob, not talk about your Dad.”

“Yes,” Alex insists sharply. 

“To...the talking about your Dad?”

Michael’s being an asshole on purpose. Alex reaches into his pants to wrap his fingers around Michael’s wrist and shove it inside so he’s not under any delusion about what it is that Alex wants to do first. 

The guttural laugh of pleasure from Michael feels _earned_. 

The handjob is pretty spectacular too, even if they don’t end up turning the television off while they frantically bring Alex off together, with Alex leaning up for small little kisses every few seconds. There’s a hint of sweat at the top of Michael’s lip when Alex kisses him, the only hint that he isn’t as cool and composed as he’s trying to appear.

Luckily, Alex has a cure for that.

After he comes and they clean him up, Alex bends over Michael and sucks him off, all thoughts of his family drifting to the very back of his mind. They wind up collapsed on the couch, even though they probably should have moved to the bed when they started fooling around. Alex reaches for the blanket on the back of it to drag it over them. He keeps absently rubbing his thumb over his swollen lower lip, aware that Michael keeps staring at it instead of the final act of the movie as it plays out in front of them. 

The taste of Michael’s come is still on Alex’s lips, and despite the popcorn nearby, he really doesn’t want to lose the taste. 

Michael, to his credit, waits until the credits to bring up the topic again. 

“So,” Michael mumbles, once Alex’s breathing has steadied out, his cheek on Michael’s shoulder, “can we talk about your Dad now? At least the Sunday dinner part of it. What am I supposed to bring? What do I wear? What time do I show up?” 

The truth is that no matter what Michael does, Jesse Manes isn’t going to like him.

“Anything you wanna wear, bring, or be,” he answers, lifting his head to position his chin on his bare, sweaty skin. “My Dad’s a homophobic asshole, we’re not there to impress him. He’s just Mom-adjacent,” he explains. 

Michael looks like he wants to keep arguing, but he eventually nods, willing to listen to the expert on Alex’s shitty home life. Despite the fact that Alex would love for Michael to stay, they’ve both got early class in the morning and are trying to behave.

Maybe it’s just that Alex knows if he wakes up with Michael in his bed, he won’t want to go anywhere for hours. The honeymoon period needs to abate a little before Alex can feel comfortable with the other staying the night.

Alex walks Michael to the door with a promise to text him the address for dinner that weekend. 

“What about tomorrow? Can we get dinner?” Michael asks, checking his phone to make sure he has the address.

“I’m invigilating a midterm for one of the other professors,” Alex apologizes, “Friday?”

“Visiting one of my cousins for a night out. You could come? We’re going to this bar she likes, near campus.”

Alex makes a face, because drinking in the vicinity of his students isn’t exactly something he wants to start doing. “Sunday dinner, then,” he says, seeing as he figures Michael will want Saturday to recuperate. “We can drive back after and stay the night together.” Neither of them teach on Monday, so they can spend the day lazing about and grading papers while tangled together. 

Michael leans in for a kiss, checking his phone again like the address might have bolted since he last looked. “I’ll see you on campus in the meantime,” he agrees. “And then on Sunday, we’ll face the Manes music and then I get to come home with you.” 

It’s a good thing, a bad thing, and a great thing all wrapped in one. 

Alex tries to focus on the good parts through the rest of the week. He really does want his mother to meet Michael, because he’s never had a boyfriend that he’s been proud enough to bring home. He wants to ride home with Michael and have ‘thank god that’s over’ sex. 

He just needs to ignore the part where he’s going to suffer through dinner with his father.

Come Sunday, Alex heads back to Roswell and arrives just minutes before he’s expected to. His mother greets him with a big hug, kissing his cheeks and taking bags of food and beer from his hands, chiding him for not visiting more often. In the other room, Alex hears the din of the television with the game on, so Jesse will be in his recliner with a beer. 

It’s been far too long since he’s seen her, and for a moment, Alex feels like a little boy watching his mother prepare dinner again. Her hair has remained mostly dark, apart from a few stubborn greying spots that she refuses to dye out. She has laugh lines around her eyes, but the last few years have added a few crinkles around her mouth, more evidence of frowning than delight. She’s the same amazing Mom now as she was then.

At 5’4”, Alex towers over her and her petite form, but it’s never felt like that. She’s always been larger than life to him, a monolith of wonder to be admired. Tonight, she’s clad in a casual blue blouse and pair of jeans, her ruby pendant glistening in the kitchen lights. 

For her, Alex will weather this house. For his Mom, Alex will do just about anything.

“How are you doing with the crutch, sweetheart?”

“Mom,” Alex protests the term of endearment. “I’m twenty-eight.”

“And you’re still my baby,” she insists smoothly, as if it doesn’t give her pause at all. “How are you doing with it? Are you listening to your doctors and not putting too much pressure on it?”

“Yes, Mom,” Alex mutters, trying to fight the embarrassed flush in his cheeks. He puts the food in the fridge and then lets his mother hustle him into a chair, telling him that he’s a guest (even though it’s his childhood home) and to let her take care of the work.

“Tell me about your classes, how are your students?” she prompts, her gaze fixed on the vegetables she’s chopping, but he also knows if he doesn’t tell the truth, she’ll know without even looking at him.

Moms do that, don’t they?

So Alex settles back and adjusts his prosthetic, talking about his classes and the impending assignments. He shares how comfortable he is and how much he wishes he’d done this sooner, even though he can’t be sure that he’d have met Michael if he did. “The mentor program has been really great too,” Alex says, mindful of the way his cheeks flush at the memory of how he and Michael first met. “It’s great taking on students with a specific interest in computer sciences. He leans back towards the family room, eyeing Jesse. “Mom, does he know…?”

“He knows that you’re bringing someone important here, that you like romantically,” she informs him firmly. 

So that means that Jesse probably didn’t pay enough attention to the details and the night is still going to be incredibly uncomfortable.

There’s no time to fix it or change it, because the knock at the front door means Michael’s here and he’s about to face the lion’s den.

“Alex,” Jesse calls. “The door.”

Alex fights the urge to roll his eyes. He’s only been back for a little under an hour and already it’s his job to get the door. Luckily, he wants to be the one to get it, not wanting Michael to have to deal with his parents right away. His mother encourages him with a nod, in the midst of preparing the vegetables, giving Alex a clear shot to head to the front door, pleased to see that Michael showed up and didn’t bail on him.

That would have been a pretty big dealbreaker, if Michael left him alone out here. Luckily, Alex doesn’t have to even think about that.

“Hey,” Alex greets Michael, opening the screen door and letting him inside. His eyes slide down to the package in Michael’s hand. “Lemon meringue pie?”

“I didn’t make it,” Michael hurries to clarify. “That said, I am an excellent shopper.” 

“It’s fine,” Alex promises, kissing Michael’s cheek. “You find the place okay?”

“Yeah, I haven’t been to Roswell in years, but it’s not a big place,” Michael admits, stepping inside and letting Alex take both the pie and his coat from him. “If I’d known the town was so interesting and fascinated with aliens, I might’ve come sooner.”

Alex groans as he thinks about the town from a visitor’s perspective.

If you’re not a tourist, he can understand why their dedication and devotion to aliens might read as strange. After all, the giant looming alien outside of town along with the UFO Emporium and any number of crash-related elements make them seem like a town of crazy people. He’s in the Air Force, he’s even been assigned to the projects.

What Alex knows is that there are no aliens in Roswell, just top-secret government projects that they can’t declassify. They’ve let the town have their myth, though. 

It’s an _excellent_ cover story.

“Well, you won’t find ET inside this house,” Alex guarantees, kissing Michael’s cheek as he coaxes him inside, leaning towards him to speak under his breath, “My Dad hates it. Anytime you bring up the alien crash, he gets all pissed off and ends up drinking more than he should.”

There’s something like a frisson of fear flickering across Michael’s face, which Alex interprets to be worry about his father.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he soothes, kissing Michael’s temple, brushing back a stray curl with two fingers. “Mom’s here, and even though their marriage isn’t exactly the picture of success, he behaves when he’s around her. Scared to push her away completely, I think.” 

They’re not here to break down the marital complexities of Jesse and Mindy Manes, though. They’re here for dinner. 

Alex glances over his shoulder to the kitchen where Jesse is pouring himself another drink, the cool tones of his parents’ non-bickering drifting down the hall. They’re always on the cusp of fighting, but never stumble off the edge. 

It makes for a tense household. 

He takes hold of Michael’s hand to lead him towards the kitchen, squeezing to give Michael some support -- or just to take it for himself. 

“Mom, Dad,” Alex says, as he steps into the kitchen and lets go of Michael’s hand. “This is Dr. Michael Guerin.” He puts a small space between them, solely because he knows that getting Jesse to accept a boyfriend is like putting a frog in boiling water. You have to stick it in and then slowly raise the temperature.

Alex kissing Michael or holding his hand in front of the frog is a little like sticking him right into the boiling water -- he runs the risk of him jumping right out. 

“Sir,” he says dutifully. “Mrs. Manes.” He hands the pie to Alex’s mom, who’s staring at him thoughtfully, like she’s trying to solve a puzzle. “It’s a pleasure to meet the both of you. Thank you for having me over to dinner. Alex has said wonderful things about you.”

“Has he?” is Jesse’s flat response, turning an incredulous look on Alex.

He doesn’t react. Michael might be a terrible liar, but Alex isn’t, so he’s able to keep any expression from his face that might imply he’s said anything but the best of things about his parents -- _both_ of them.

“I told him that my parents were interested in meeting him,” Alex says calmly, which isn’t a lie as far as he’s aware. His mother had been far more interested, but given that his parents are still together, that means Jesse has some responsibility within that.

The tension still seems high, and Alex’s Mom looks eager to put it to rest.

“Please, everyone, sit.” She gives Michael a warm smile as she steps towards him, peering up at him from where she stands, all of five-foot-four and with her warm, engaging smile and her kind eyes. She takes his hand into hers to squeeze it, staring at him for a long moment. “Dr. Guerin, I’m glad my son finally brought you around to us.”

“There’s no finally about it, ma’am,” Michael guarantees with a mischievous look tipped Alex’s way. “We’ve only been dating a few weeks, I just know a good thing when I have one, and I’m pretty sure Alex is the best thing I’ve seen in years.”

Alex blushes. Jesse glares. Mindy crows with delighted laughter.

“You’re a good boy,” she whispers, and nods towards the table. “Come, sit. You’re our guest, I don’t want you doing any work!” 

It’s a nice sentiment, but Alex can already see the gears turning in Michael’s head. 

He might be a guest, but he’s here to impress.

“I’d much rather you let me help you with dinner,” Michael insists. “I’ve been reliably told that I have very strong hands.” He winks at Alex, who flushes a little, because he’d said that to Michael when he’d kept him pinned to the wall while they fucked a few days ago. 

He’s a menace, but Alex likes that about him. 

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Mindy says, cupping his cheek and guiding him to show him the kitchen. 

It leaves Alex alone with his father.

“You brought a boyfriend home,” Jesse says flatly. 

“Yes,” Alex replies, staring down his father. He’s not afraid of him anymore, not since he left to fight his own wars. He’s learned there are more evil things out there than the disapproval of an asshole, and he doesn’t have to live under this roof.

He’s only here because he loves his mother and he wants her to approve of Michael.

Jesse can rot in hell, for all Alex cares.

“He seems to have…” 

Alex waits for Jesse to pick his words, clearly rifling through his asshole dictionary to find the right insult.

“...very _secondhand_ taste in how he presents himself.”

Oh, so they’re going down the poor road. Michael’s shirt might be a little rough around the edges, but he still looks great, as far as Alex is concerned. Alex isn’t going to rise to the bait, if only because it’s desperate, even for Jesse. This might be the first time Alex has ever brought someone home, but he really likes Michael and his father’s disapproval isn’t going to change things.

It’s his Mom he cares about, and right now, he can hear her and Michael hitting it off in the kitchen.

“Haven’t you heard?” Alex says flatly. “The vintage look is back in style.” 

He walks away from Jesse to join his mother and Michael in the kitchen, hands out. “Load me up,” he encourages. “I’m ready to make trips to the table.” Plus, it gets him away from his father for a blessed few minutes, he’ll do anything.

Mindy seems to understand, gesturing to the table. “Take the napkins and the wine,” she says, kissing his cheek. Once she’s close enough, she whispers, “He’s a very handsome boy, your Michael.”

Her approval makes Alex flush, but also delights him. He takes the things his Mom had gestured to, following after Michael to help get the table set up. Mom follows only seconds later, which is good, because it means that they don't have to endure the dinner table and Jesse on their own. 

Jesse’s eyes flicker over the food, making a dismayed sound. “Lamb?”

“It’s Alex’s favorite,” Mindy replies calmly, as if Jesse isn’t trying to throw grenades into their dinner. “With couscous and a mint jelly, isn’t that right?”

Alex doesn’t smirk at his father, he doesn’t, but he does sit up a little straighter at winning this stupid, insignificant, tiny battle.

And yet, it feels so good, it really does.

Jesse deflates and resigns himself to eating delicious lamb that his mother prepared just for her baby boy, and Michael is blissfully unaware of the power dynamics happening before his eyes, given that he seems occupied with pouring wine for everyone. Alex decides to try and keep away from landmines, talking about how he and Michael met, even though it’s more for Michael’s benefit, since he’s repeating himself with his mother.

This way, Michael knows exactly what it is that Mindy knows, and won’t be surprised if she asks any questions.

“I looked up your name before you came. Michael Guerin,” Mindy shares, as she’s nibbling at her plate. Alex gives his Mom a proud smile, loving that she’s been getting into genealogy and lineage, but also that she’d taken so much of an interest in Michael just from Alex’s phone calls. “Do you know that ‘Guerin’ means ‘guard’ in some older languages?”

Michael shakes his head, but he looks fascinated. “I didn’t, no. It’s my Dad’s name, even though my parents haven’t been together since I was a kid.” Michael seems to get knocked off his game when he glances over and sees the way Jesse seems to fix all that attention on him. “Michael Truman felt kind of weird and like I was trying to be a presidential stand-in or like I belonged in an old 90’s movie,” he quips. “So even though Dad wasn’t really in the picture, I kept it. Mom was on board, we never looked back.”

Alex doesn’t know _what_ set it off, but something happens the moment Michael says ‘Truman’.

He doesn’t know what he said, but _something_ has gone wrong. The air is suddenly different. He hears Mindy’s sharp intake of breath. He sees the way she grips her cutlery, and he sees the way Jesse turns an accusatory look on his _wife_ of all people.

“What?” Michael says, trying to break the tension. “Let me guess. Truman was what Alex was almost named? Big fan of Harry S.?”

He gets Jesse’s attention for that, but Alex doesn’t think Michael wants it. His gaze is cold and suspicious, clearly unhappy. The weird thing about this is that Alex has no goddamn idea what his parents are acting weird about.

“I think maybe we knew some Trumans here in town,” Mindy says, her voice shaky. She suddenly turns to Alex, her eyes landing on the plates. “I’ll clean up and get ready for dessert.” 

That seems to signify an end to that particular topic, given how shaken Mindy suddenly seems. Alex tries to reach out and grab his Mom’s hand, but she shakes him off, her eyes on the ground.

Once Mom’s in the kitchen with the dishes, Alex feels the tension in the room rocket upwards as soon as she’s clear. He reaches under the table to grab Michael’s hand, a quiet reminder that he doesn’t have to sit here with Alex’s father if he doesn't want to. “Michael, do you want to dry the dishes with my Mom?”

Michael’s gaze is fixed on Jesse, and he shakes his head.

“Nah, I figure it’s good to meet my boyfriend’s father.” He says boyfriend so pointedly that he’s definitely trying to get a rise out of Jesse. “So, Mr. Manes,” Michael says, as polite as ever despite the way Jesse is trying to glare Michael off the face of the earth from the look of his face. “What do you do for work?” He’s trying, he really is, and Alex thinks it’s one of the sweetest things anyone’s ever done for him.

Even if it’s all going to be in vain. 

Jesse dabs his napkin against the corners of his lips. “I don’t think it’s interesting enough to be dinner table material.”

“Not a professor then? I thought maybe Alex followed in the family footsteps.”

“He did, for a time,” Jesse says with a steely look at Alex. “Unfortunately, my son decided after he was wounded that he’d rather join the academic world rather than stay with the military.”

He says ‘academic’ like it’s some kind of plague that needs to be rooted out and destroyed. Alex isn’t surprised. Jesse has made it plenty clear in the past what he thinks about Alex leaving the military to pursue a different career. 

“It said everything I needed to know about my son,” Jesse replies, and lifts his phone up to pay strict attention to whatever messages he’s receiving instead of his dinner company. Alex glares at his father, but he doesn’t even notice, because he’s decided to pretend that there’s no one else at the dinner table.

Asshole, thinks Alex. Though, knowing his father, he could’ve done a lot worse. 

Michael seems a little unnerved, glancing between the kitchen and then Alex. “I think I’m going to get some air,” he says, when Jesse lifts his phone and begins to completely ignore Michael’s very existence, pleading with his eyes for Alex to help him out. 

“I’ll come with you,” Alex insists, not bothering to glare at his father despite the fact that Jesse probably wouldn’t even notice. After all, the grand total reaction he gets is a nonchalant grunt, not lifting his eyes from his phone.

The porch is the escape that he needs, finally _breathing_ as soon as he’s out. He glances over his shoulder to see Michael lingering, fidgeting as he looks for something -- not that Alex has any idea what.

Finally, Michael grasps what he’s looking for, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and giving Alex an apologetic look at the same time. “I know it’s a nasty habit,” he admits. “I picked it up about a decade ago when things got stressful at school. I basically could choose between falling down a bottle or four or taking up the occasional smoke. I chose the latter.” Alex isn’t about to argue with Michael’s coping mechanisms, at least, not yet. “My family’s after me to quit and I keep telling them I will. I’m down to about two a week,” he admits, finding a lighter in his other back pocket.

“Here,” Alex says quietly, reaching to hold the lighter to give him a light. “Pretty sure this is the kind of stressful situation that calls for a smoke.”

“You asking to share?”

“I’m good just grabbing some air,” Alex promises, levering himself down into the swing on the porch, staring out into the distance. 

The tip of Michael’s cigarette illuminates the darkness, followed swiftly by the porch lights coming on. It’s followed by another person joining their little party, but since Alex knows his father would never come out here to join them, it could only be Mom. 

“I’m sorry about my husband.”

Alex hadn’t expected his mother to come join them, but he also doesn’t think she needs to apologize for Jesse’s behavior. She’d done her best to keep him from harming the boys over the years, but she couldn’t always be around. Sometimes, she’d be out of town for business or visiting family and Jesse would take advantage.

Michael seems nervous, tamping out the cigarette in a hurry, like he’s still anxious to make a good impression. 

There’s also something else Alex can’t place about the way Michael looks at his mother. It’s almost like he’s trying to figure something out. Alex doesn’t think they’ve met before, but he files it away to think about later. Maybe it’s just that Alex bears a strong resemblance to her and that’s what Michael is seeing. 

“It’s fine, Alex has told me that things between the two of them aren’t …” he trails off, giving Alex a wary look like he’s about to sell him out. It’s nothing his mother hasn’t heard before, so Alex nods his head to encourage him to keep going. “I’m kind of hoping that I can at least make a good impression on you,” he suggests hopefully, “seeing as you’re the one who actually wanted me to come to dinner.”

“Oh,” Mindy says with a small laugh, “[You certainly made an impression, Mr. Truman](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047291/chapters/68710869).”

“It’s Dr. Guerin,” he clarifies, even if he sounds a bit skittish to be correcting her.

“Yes, of course,” Alex’s mother says, still staring at Michael like she’s taken with him suddenly. “My mistake.” 

There’s a long stretch of awkward silence and Alex finds himself suddenly wondering if having a cigarette wouldn’t be a good way to keep his hands occupied.

“I think we were going to head back to Albuquerque,” Alex finally speaks, cutting into the eerie stretch of quiet. “It’s a few hours,” he tells her what she already knows, “and I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome.”

He doesn’t mean to sound bitter, but he knows that this place isn’t his home anymore. Jesse had made it plenty clear what he thought of Alex’s decision to leave the Air Force and that any son of his that abandoned his duty wasn’t a son he wanted under his roof.

“I understand,” Mindy promises, squeezing Alex’s hand. “You’ll call when you arrive?”

“The very moment.” 

Alex doesn’t bother to go back inside to say goodbye to Jesse. His mother knows him well enough to have brought his satchel out with her, which means he has everything he needs. He just wishes they weren’t driving back on their own, seeing as Alex anticipates a lot of revisiting the night and replaying it over and over again in his mind. 

“That went pretty well,” Michael says, glancing over his shoulder once they’re out of earshot. “Right?”

Alex is still trying to catalogue the night. He’s sure he’ll spend the three hour drive back to Albuquerque doing nothing but thinking about it. It did go well, because he’d never expected his father to welcome Michael with open arms. His mother had loved Michael, right up until she got super weird about him.

Maybe there’s a Truman or two in town that Mindy knows and that’s why she’d reacted the way she did. Maybe it’s just that she hadn’t expected Michael to throw her off her research game. Either way, Alex knows it’s not something he’ll be able to forget about.

“I’ll see you back at your place?” Michael says, distracting Alex from his train of thought. 

“Call me when you’re in the car and you’ve got the bluetooth hooked up,” Alex pleads. “I don’t want this to be a lonely drive.”

“After you took all that time setting it up for me in a truck that doesn’t even have better technology than a tape deck?” Michael teases. “I’ll call you as soon as I’m in the car,” he vows softly, kissing Alex’s cheek. His lips linger against the soft skin of his cheekbone, almost like he knows that Alex needs that extra moment of soothing. 

It’s the spurring encouragement he needs before he gets into his SUV, adjusting his rearview mirror to get a good look at his family home.

There’s his mother, still on the porch, but she’s not looking at Alex. No, her attention is fixed on Michael’s truck and her brow is furrowed, the way she gets when there’s a problem facing her and she’s not quite sure what to do about it.

She’d been so kind to him all night, right up until things got so strangely awkward.

Does that mean she doesn’t like Michael? Is she unsure of him, suddenly? 

Instead of spending three hours worrying about it, Alex calls Michael as soon as he hits the road. From the moment Michael’s soothing voice fills the SUV, Alex knows that he can put all worries off for another day.

“Two hours and forty-five minutes until you’re in my arms,” Michael says, leading them ten miles above the speed limit towards home.

It can’t come soon enough, as far as Alex is concerned.

* * *

At the end of Alex’s latest class, he has five texts from his mother and a missed call from her. It’s not strange for her to be reaching out like this, but usually it’s because she needs help with the internet connection or wants to check in on Alex.

What _is_ weird is that this time, her texts all happen to be about Alex’s boyfriend. They’re not disapproving or worried. In fact, Alex would venture to say that they’re overly curious, asking questions about where Michael’s from, how he’s doing, and whether he’s eating enough.

That last one is weird.

Right?

He doesn’t leave it to only his opinion, calling up Maria. “It’s weird that my mother is asking if Michael is getting enough to eat, right?” he asks, once they’ve said a quick hello. 

“She’s met him how many times?”

“Twice. Once at Sunday dinner, then she drove up to have dinner with us without my Dad there. She just has this weird look around him and I don’t even know how to explain what it is,” Alex admits, not sure he’s ever seen those expressions on his mother’s face.

There’s a pause, which sounds like Maria thinking about it. “Do you think she disapproves?”

“That’s what’s weird,” Alex insists. “It’s the complete opposite. Honestly, if you saw the way she’s treating him and me, you’d think we were both her kids. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Michael, but she’s acting like he’s already her son-in-law and marriage is definitely way down the line, here.” 

“You’ve never brought someone home, right?”

“No,” Alex admits, wondering if maybe he’s been reading too deeply into this. “You think this is just how she is?”

“I think neither of us know any better,” Maria confides. “Is Michael freaked out?”

“Nah,” Alex says with a fond smile, even if it brings something up. “When you two were doing your thing, was his mother around?”

“No, but she’d gone missing pretty recently. Part of why we were even together was because he was such a mess, just looking for something to distract himself,” Maria confesses. “Why? What are you thinking?”

“Maybe it’s just that he misses his mother, so he’s so ready to accept my Mom’s overbearing caring and not treating this like it’s weird.” Because, honestly, why does she care so much what Michael eats? Is that really normal? If he’d brought someone back after high school, would she have wanted to know the same? 

Alex lets out a slow exhalation, trying to figure out what it all means. “I guess I can just be honest with him and tell him what my mother’s asking.”

“Honesty is the best policy,” Maria agrees, in the tone of voice that says that Alex already knew the answer, he just needed to ramble until he got to the same conclusion that he’d known all along:

This isn’t up to him. If Michael is cool with it, then why not let his mother pry?

“Call me after,” Maria encourages.

“Don’t your patrons give you enough gossip?” Alex complains, packing up his books. 

“If you bothered to come visit me when you’re in town next time, you’d know for yourself.” 

Well, _that’s_ one hell of a guilt trip. Alex feels like he can actually feel the gut-punch of it, and he grimaces as he adjusts his bag over his shoulder, reaching for his crutch to slide it over his back and buckle it in. There’s plenty to feel guilty about, too. He doesn’t know why he hadn’t gone to the Wild Pony before going to his parents’ place. Maybe because he’s nervous to face Maria when things are still so new with Michael? 

She definitely is rooting for them, but Alex is still scared of messing things up, and having to visit Maria and fess up about all his fears that his family is going to drive Michael away isn’t what he’s ready for. 

“Next time, I swear,” he vows, transferring the phone to the other ear. 

“Call your mother,” Maria says, properly quelled by Alex’s promise. “You can make things up to me the next time you visit.” 

This feels like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, but given that his mother would bring the fire to him, it’s probably better to keep it contained instead of letting it burn out of control. That still doesn’t mean he calls right away, beginning his walk to Michael’s with the intent to let the walk clear his mind.

He doesn’t get very far before his phone pings with a notification that relieves him of any hopes for that, with another text from his mother.

This time, she’s asking if she can see Michael -- _without_ Alex there.

If he didn’t know any better, he’d think that his mother has some kind of weird inappropriate crush on Alex’s new boyfriend, or she’s being wildly protective and trying to make sure that he’s good enough for Alex. Either way, he’s kind of wary about it.

Sticking his ear buds in, Alex decides to address the issue head-on.

“Mom,” he says, when she picks up. “What the hell?”

“Hello sweetheart, how are you? Did your class behave today?”

Alex bristles at the small talk. She’s been grilling him all morning about his boyfriend and suddenly, she only wants to know how his class had gone? “Why are you interrogating me about Michael?” 

There’s a long pause on the line.

“I think he’s a sweet boy,” she says, and that’s the first red flag, because Michael isn’t a boy that you take home and make chicken noodle soup. Sure, he’s the first guy that Alex has ever brought home, but that doesn’t make him a wayward orphan. “I like him, I just want to get to know more about him and I think the best way to do that is if he and I sit down and have a talk just between the two of us.”

“It’s a lot, Mom,” Alex admits, though he’s beginning to feel guilty.

It’s not like he’s ever introduced his parents to anyone he’s dated before. Maybe Mindy is just trying to make up for a lost decade’s worth of interaction, and here Alex is acting like an asshole because he thinks she’s going overboard. 

“It’s up to the both of you, of course,” she says, already starting to back off the idea, which fills Alex with a kind of guilt he hasn’t experienced in years. “Please, would you just bring it up to him? You don’t have to, but I’d like you to ask for me.”

How is he supposed to say no to that?

“I’ll ask,” he promises, even if he still feels like he’s missing something here. 

Not that his Mom is eager to explain. 

“Good! Oh, sweetheart, thank you.” 

He’s about to ask what this is about, but he gets hit with his second giant burst of guilt for the day. Maybe this is just how she acts when Alex is in a relationship and he’s never given her a chance to do that with anyone else. He’ll ask Michael, but if this keeps being weird, then he’s going to have a talk with his mother.

Not today, though.

Today just turned into Alex trying to navigate the waters of figuring out how to bring this up with Michael without scaring him off.

“I’ll text you with his answer later, Mom.”

“Thank you, baby. I love you my little Allie-Cat.”

“Mom,” Alex groans, because that’s a nickname he hasn’t heard in almost a decade and he’s pretty sure that she’s only bringing it out now for the one-two punch it manages in getting Alex to do what she’s asked. She doesn’t even counter, just hangs up, leaving Alex blushing like an idiot as he makes his way to Michael’s. 

Alex tucks his phone away, marking that as two for two on the ‘really weird phone calls’ scale. 

Deciding to chance a third, he calls Michael. “I’m almost there,” he says. “Please tell me you bought popcorn for tonight.”

Within seconds, Michael proves that these things don’t need to come in threes. There’s no awkwardness or guilt on this phone call at all, just a guarantee of dinner, followed by popcorn and one of Alex’s favorite movies ready to go.


	4. The Mystery

Alex is in heaven. 

There’s no other way to describe the sensation of Michael on top of him, lazily kissing him while the end credits of Star Wars play on the television beside them. They’d stopped paying attention to the movie somewhere in the third act, when Michael had reached over for some of Alex’s popcorn, his thumb brushing Alex’s wrist on the way out. 

He’s not surprised that they went from that to making out, but it’s incredible how Michael can make him feel with his steady touches, his confident kisses, and the way he showers Alex with affection. As much as Alex would love to take this into the bedroom, his conversation with his mother lingers in his mind.

It’s a mood killer, that’s for sure.

“Hey,” Alex mumbles, pressing a hand to Michael’s chest to keep him a little distance away. “Wait.”

Michael sulks, but listens as he sits up, leaning heavily against the couch. “Garlic breath?”

They’d both eaten garlicky pasta for dinner, so it’s not that.

“My Mom asked me to ask you something,” Alex says quietly, once he’s turned the television off so he can face Michael properly, fulfilling his promise to his mother so he can shake that albatross off his neck. “I need you to know that if you don’t want to do this, it’s okay.” 

“Okay?” Michael gives him a wary look, which Alex gets. “Still trying to get into her good graces,” he admits with a sheepish little grin, “Pretty sure I’d do anything.”

“She wants to grab coffee with you.”

“Cool,” Michael says, easily. “We can do it between classes or something, we both have around three free on Friday, right?”

Alex reaches out to gently hold Michael’s wrist. “Babe,” he says calmly, trying to hide his own nerves, “she wants to grab coffee with just you.” 

Michael doesn’t seem so unnerved. It’s almost a revelation the way that Michael shrugs, grabbing his phone so he can pull up his calendar. “Yeah, that’s no problem,” he says, and Alex is starting to wonder if Maria had been right after all. Maybe this is just a normal Mom thing, or a boyfriend thing. Maybe all this time, he’s been worrying about it for nothing. “When does she want to do it? Actually, never mind, I’ll send her an email,” Michael says before Alex can answer.

“So, you’re really okay with this?” Alex asks, watching the way Michael keeps typing the email in his phone. He knows he probably shouldn’t poke this hornet’s nest when it seems to be going well, but he also needs to know if he really is the only one feeling like this is strange. 

“Yeah, I mean, your Mom’s great,” Michael says. “And there’s this other thing…”

“Okay?” Alex asks warily. 

“Do you ever feel like you’ve met someone before?” Michael asks. “I felt it with you, but that was like a cosmic connection, like something was tugging me towards you. Then, we hit it off, so I didn’t question it, but I swear that I knew your Mom before we met in Roswell, which is impossible, cuz I’ve literally never even _been_ to Roswell other than for fifteen minutes during a road trip with my Mom when I was a kid.” 

“Tourists seeing the sights?” Alex guesses.

“Mom brought me to the crash site, yeah.”

“You mean, the supposed one,” Alex clarifies.

Michael doesn’t dignify Alex’s correction with an answer. The only problem he seems to be working through is why Mindy Manes looks so familiar to him. “Maybe I met her once I got shipped off to those gifted schools? I bounced around a few of them, so maybe I met her there, but I swear I’ve met her before.” 

Alex has a sneaking suspicion that Michael agreeing to see his mother has a little something to do with this. They’ve been dating for a little while now, but in that short time, Alex has quickly understood that when Michael is faced with a problem, that genius brain of his refuses to let it go until there’s a solution at hand.

He slides his palm over Michael’s neck, cupping it so he can press a relieved kiss to his lips. “I’m glad you’re okay with this,” he says, because if Michael had freaked out about it, then Alex might have had an ally, but he knows deep down it would’ve unnerved him.

“There’s one thing that we should talk about, though.”

Alex blinks to try and nudge away the fear that suddenly swarms him. He tells himself that Michael probably isn’t going to break up with them when they’ve been making out, but that little fearful and paranoid voice in his brain isn’t so sure. “Okay,” he says, steeling himself for the worst case scenario.

Michael clearly isn’t so tense, laughing at the way Alex is clenching his fists. “Easy,” he says, reaching down to pry Alex’s fingers out of their tense hold, one by one. “I just want to talk about our relationship and very much having one,” he vows. “Seeing as your Mom’s asking to go to coffee without you, I figured we should talk about if we’re exclusive or not. And, you know...boyfriends.”

Oh.

Alex blinks as the cobwebs clear and he realizes what it is they need to clarify.

_Oh_! 

“I guess we haven’t had that talk,” Alex admits, trying to strain back to figure out how it is they could’ve missed that. He gives Michael a shy, hopeful look. “You brought it up, so I’m guessing you’re good with dating me and being my boyfriend. My exclusive boyfriend”

He really likes the way that sounds.

Alex dreamily stares at Michael, needing to hear it again. “I’m making out with my exclusive boyfriend.”

“Not right now you’re not,” Michael retorts, but he looks pretty stupidly pleased himself. He reaches for Alex’s shirt with both hands, his fingers clasping at the fabric to haul him in atop his lap, going back to actually making out. 

Alex is still a little dazed at the idea that he and Michael haven’t had that talk yet, or maybe it’s just that Alex is shocked that he subjected him to his parents _before_ locking him into a relationship. Either way, he’s insanely grateful that Michael hadn’t been on a different page and it shows in the way they kiss. 

It’s also clear because Alex can’t shut up about it.

“I have a boyfriend,” he mumbles, lips on Michael’s.

Michael gives a whining sound. “Yeah, you do.”

Alex breathes out, drifting towards Michael like he’s magnetized by him, grinding against him. “You’re my boyfriend.”

“Alex,” Michael begs, his head falling away as he tips it back. “Are we gonna seriously do the whole ‘see Spot run’ routine? Michael is your boyfriend, Alex is his. Michael would _really like_ to keep kissing.”

Alex would too, but he doesn’t think Michael gets the importance of it.

“I’ve never had a boyfriend,” Alex says, trying to keep his stung feelings at bay, knowing it’s not fair when Michael might not understand why this is so important to him. “You’re my first boyfriend, Michael Guerin. You think I would’ve taken just anyone home?”

That seems to do the trick.

Michael’s mouth parts, a soft shape as he gapes at Alex. “...oh.” 

“Yeah,” Alex agrees. “Oh.” 

Now he understands why it’s such a big deal, and the way that Michael looks at him makes him _feel_ that way too. Alex feels like a jewel, a treasure, something that could make Michael’s eyes light up in the way they are. In the reflection of Michael’s gaze, he feels glittering and glowing. 

He feels alive.

“Okay,” Michael says, his hands sliding up and down Alex’s arms as he holds him close. “Tell your Mom I’m in.”

“Tell her that my _exclusive boyfriend_ is willing to have coffee with her.” Alex is so overjoyed saying those words that he’s almost forgotten his fears and anxiety about the fact that his mother is asking about this at all. 

“Yeah,” Michael agrees, lighting up with sheer delight. “He is. And he’s gonna get baby pictures,” he threatens. “Ones that will be framed either on a nightstand or pinned to the kitchen fridge with a magnet.”

They’re clearly in the honeymoon stage of their relationship, as Alex notes, “You are still so hot to me even though I shouldn’t like you after that.”

Michael smirks at him, hands sliding over Alex’s back, making the beginning of a descent towards his ass. “It’s all part of my charm,” he says, and gives Alex no warning before he pins him to the couch, twisting and writhing until he’s got Alex securely locked underneath him and they can go back to making out.

Alex feels like a new man, maybe because he is. He’s still Professor Alex Manes. He still has tests to write, papers to grade, and he still has three older brothers, a disapproving father, and a loving mother.

He’s all those things, but today he’s more. 

Now, he belongs to Michael Guerin, too, and he’s adrift in ecstasy for it. They spend an hour making out on that couch until Alex’s hips and lower back begin to ache, the skin around his prosthetic rubbed raw. He cups Michael’s cheek to ease him off, brushing his thumb tenderly against his jaw.

“You okay if I stay the night?” Alex asks hopefully.

“If you tried to walk out that door, I’d throw you over my shoulder caveman style and drag you back to the bed,” Michael retorts, with a dubious scoff. “ _Yeah_ , you’re staying the night.” Michael gives Alex the slightest push, and hooks his arm around Alex’s waist, even though a moment later, a look of fear flashes over his face. “This is okay, right, if I...?”

“Yeah,” Alex promises, and adjusts so that he can let Michael pick him up and carry him to the bedroom. It’s a smaller space than Alex’s, just like the rest of Michael’s home, but it’s no less beautiful. 

There’s a stack of books on the nightstand -- an eclectic mix between textbooks, non-fiction about space travel, and spy thrillers. There’s art on the walls that looks like it’s come from all over the state, and there’s a picture of a beautiful blonde woman hugging a young Michael that Alex gets his first peek at.

“Is this....?”

“My mother? Yeah,” Michael agrees, glancing up from removing the sock and the prosthetic. “I was seven when that was taken, on one of our adventures. I was her curly-haired angel,” he quips. “I grew out of that,” he says, like he needs to convince Alex of Michael’s most dastardly wiles.

Alex traces his fingers over it, glad that Michael might get a little maternal affection back with Mrs. Manes, even if Alex is still struggling to have it all make sense in his head. 

“Good?” Michael checks, once he’s helped strip Alex to his boxer-briefs. 

“Much better,” he agrees, snuggling in towards Michael to hold onto him, content to fall asleep pressed against Michael, his lips snug against Michael’s shoulder. There’s a part of his brain that’s wary that they’re not doing anything more than curling up, but Alex has had a long, kind of fucked-up day, and this is all he wants to do.

Besides, it’s not like he’s actually told his Mom about the agreement. Right now, Alex has a feeling even if he wanted to go a round with Michael, there’ll be a mental block preventing him from doing it. 

He ends up texting his mother the good news in the middle of the night when he’s sure he won’t get a text back, then adds another text that says that he might be willing to let them talk alone, but Alex still intends to be there, if only twenty feet away.

In the morning, she replies with: _still the ever-watchful hawk?_

She’s not wrong. Some habits die hard. He’s too nervous about this still to let it happen completely without some supervision. 

He replies back to tell her that they would’ve met up after anyway, and this is just saving them time. They arrange times, dates, and locations, and then it’s all set up. He puts his phone on the kitchen counter, returning to the bowl of pancake batter he’s been mixing for Michael, feeling a little lighter. 

Of course he’s still worried about what they might talk about, but it’s set up. It’s done.

“Pancakes,” comes Michael’s sleepy voice. “Is this what I’m gonna get every time you stay over?” 

Alex glances over his shoulder to give Michael a fond smile. “You have an eight-thirty class,” he reminds him, checking his watch. “Seeing as you’re not even dressed, it’s seven-thirty, and you have a fifteen minute walk to campus, I figured that I would get you something for the road.” He flicks his fingers at Michael. “Clothes.”

“Why? You jealous my students might see me teaching in a tank top and jeans?” Michael teases, even as he grabs a plaid shirt that’s hanging off the kitchen door. Once he’s tugged that on, he wraps his arms around Alex from behind, nuzzling a kiss against his neck while Alex cooks. “You texted your Mom?”

“I did,” Alex agrees, keeping his voice calm. “This Friday, right after your class.” 

Michael hums in agreement, sounding half asleep. Alex brushes Michael’s hair back from off his forehead to lay a kiss there, handing him a pancake burrito with bacon inside, drizzling on some syrup. He sees the way Michael’s eyes light up as he leans in for the first bite, taking it out of Alex’s hands.

“God, you’re amazing,” Michael groans, when he dives in for his next bite. 

“You’re going to be late!”

“I don’t care, it’s worth it!” Michael shouts over his shoulder before he becomes a whirling dervish of activity, grabbing his laptop and textbooks, along with his lecture notes. He stops by the kitchen to kiss Alex’s cheek again, eyes sliding over him. “You’re not teaching until tonight, right?”

Alex gestures to his schedule pinned to Michael’s fridge by a cow magnet. “Seven to eight-thirty.”

“Great. Then don’t go anywhere and I’ll see you soon.” 

Alex sends Michael off to class (even if he looks more student than teacher) and settles in to mark papers. It’s enough to take his mind off of the impending meet-up, but not for very long. 

Alex knows his brain, and he knows the way it likes to consume him when he’s anxious about something. Later that day, and in the ensuing days, he tries to think about _anything_ else, but there’s really only one thing on his mind. 

He can’t really focus on anything other than his mother’s impending meeting with Michael, to the point that he’s _grateful_ when Friday arrives, rendering the rest of the week a blur of classes, stolen time with Michael, and worry about what they might talk about. 

Finally, there’s no more worrying, because it’s happening one way or the other.

They arrive at the coffee shop to find Mindy already waiting in the corner. Alex tugs on Michael’s hand, giving him a worried look. “Hey,” he says. “Are you cool with this?”

“Pretty late to be asking that, because I’m pretty sure your Mom just drove like, three hours so she could come grab a drink with me,” Michael says, pulling away from Alex and heading towards the table at the back.

Alex tugs back to prevent him from going just yet.

“I’m serious. I know this might be a lot to ask, but…”

“Alex,” Michael interrupts him. “This is fine, I’m gonna be okay. Okay?” He gives Alex a dazzling smile, full of hope, and it does the trick. Alex relents his grasp on his wrist and lets him go. He waves to his mother to greet her and she gives him a beaming smile of relief, like she’d been worried he might not show up.

Here they are, though. 

Alex settles at least four tables away where he can’t hear the conversation, knowing that it would probably drive him crazy if he were sitting close enough that he could. He watches Michael cross the cafe and greet Mindy with a hug before he settles in a seat where Alex will be able to see his face. 

Even though Michael is completely fine with a solo outing with Mindy Manes, Alex hasn’t managed to get over the niggling wariness in his mind.

Maybe his Mom just wants to share baby photos or something. Still, Alex can’t completely leave them alone. He buys a latte for Michael and a coffee for his Mom from the barista, asking that it be delivered before he returns to his own table at the front. He doesn’t want to interrupt, but he still wants to make sure they know he’s okay with this. 

From what he can see, Michael is desperate to impress, still so determined to make a good impression. It’s clear that to do that, he’ll do anything either of Alex’s parents ask. Alex has to hope that Michael never even attempts to get on Jesse’s good side. Some things just aren’t possible. 

Alex digs out his books and forces himself to make an attempt to read them, intent on giving Michael and his mother some privacy. He still can’t help glancing up every few minutes to see how the conversation is going. He can hear them laughing, so things must be going well, but after a few more minutes, their table goes eerily silent. 

Alex looks up in time to see Michael pale and shocked, like he’s just seen a ghost. 

His mother isn’t much better, wiping at her cheeks like she’s been crying. 

Alex is on his feet to head over and find out why, but it’s not before his mother picks up her purse and heads towards him, on her way out. “Thank you for arranging this, sweetheart,” she says, kissing his cheek. “You should come to dinner this weekend.” Her eyes are misty, the way she gets when she’s upset, but before Alex can grab his crutch to offer to walk her out, she waves him goodbye and heads off in a rush.

Lost, Alex turns to see Michael looking just as struck and emotional. 

“What the hell just happened?” Alex demands, adjusting his crutch to make his way over to Michael, practically flying past chairs and tables. “Why is she upset?”

Michael looks stunned. Alex is beginning to wonder why the hell he agreed to let this happen, when it’s clearly ended in disaster.

Alex sets his crutch against the nearest table to take Michael’s hands in his, trying to get him to look at him straight in the eye. “Hey,” he pleads, not loving this weird zoned-out version of Michael. “Talk to me. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Michael protests, “Alex, it was so weird. It wasn’t like either of the times we ate dinner together. That first hug, that went on _forever_ ,” he explains, “and she kept touching my face like she was going to cry. She said that she knows it’s strange, but that she never thought she’d see me again.” Michael’s shaking his head, like he doesn’t understand. “Again,” he echoes. “I know she looked familiar, but I figured it was just familial resemblance and you looked like her.”

“Yeah,” Alex agrees warily. “That’s a bit weird,” he admits. 

“Yeah, well, it’s about to get a lot weirder,” Michael guarantees, still staring in the direction that Mindy had left in. “She said that she’d met me when I was little, because she’d been around when I was growing up. I guess we never went to Roswell, but she’d visited us?”

Yeah, that’s strange.

“And then,” Michael keeps speaking, even though Alex is pretty sure there’s nothing else he could say about this, “she said that she loved my mother very much before my mother left her.”

Michael’s _missing_ mother, which means that it’s been over ten years since Mindy might have met with Michael. “I guess that explains why she looked so familiar to you,” Alex says, feeling like someone’s sucker-punched all the air out of his chest. 

Why hasn’t his mother told him about this?

What the hell kind of secrets is she sitting on? Worse, if he needs to find out more (not wants, but _needs_ ), then he has a feeling he’s going to have to look into a history that Alex has been happy to ignore up until now because it means going back home and asking questions of not just his Mom, but also Jesse.

This isn’t the kind of conversation they should be having in the middle of a public coffeeshop. Alex grabs his crutch and steadies himself so that he can guide Michael out of there with a hand on his back.

“Hey,” he says. “We’ll figure this out, okay?”

He’s almost impressed by how smooth and confident he sounds, because Alex has no idea whether they will. Until today, he had no idea that his mother apparently had these kinds of secrets, and now he’s trying to wrap his head around the idea that his mother _loved_ Michael’s, and given the way she’s been staring at him, Alex has an inkling that she doesn’t mean in the ‘just friends’ kind of way.

“Next time your family asks me to coffee, I’m making you sit at the same table,” Michael warns, but he’s moving, thank fuck. 

Alex is glad they’re on the same page. 

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

At least, then, they could hear these kinds of bombshells together.

* * *

The next night when Alex is on his way to bed, Michael is already there in his reading glasses, skimming an article on his laptop. Sticking his toothbrush back in the cup by the sink, Alex wanders to the bed and starts to take off his prosthetic, trying not to think about how quickly they’ve become this domestic, but also not minding. 

It’s a lot better than thinking about the disastrous coffee meet-up yesterday, so Alex would much rather focus on playing house with Michael.

“Hey,” Michael says, putting his laptop aside. “Let me help with that.”

“I got it,” Alex promises, but it’s barely a protest. Within seconds, Michael’s hands are working the prosthetic off, gently putting it aside. It’s a small thing, but Alex appreciates the ability to close his eyes and let someone else do this for him, all while not having to fear what the person will think.

Never, not once, has Michael ever made Alex feel like less. Even Alex had felt like less of a person, just after the accident. He’d felt like three-quarters of a real man, but with Michael, he’s full up again. In fact, he feels more than. Michael has a habit of making him feel like he’s _better_ than the Alex he used to be, though Alex suspects a lot of that has to do with the fact that Alex is finally blazing his own trail.

“Better?” Michael asks, once he’s set the prosthetic aside and is giving Alex a gentle massage. 

Alex nods his thanks, feeling a little unsteady, but he knows it’s not a physical ache that’s getting at him. This is completely because of what happened yesterday and the truth is that he’s scared of being the one to bring it up.

Lucky for him, Michael’s just as curious and probably a little more forward. 

“It’s weird that your Mom knew my Mom, right?” Michael asks, once Alex has finally settled into bed beside him, reaching for his own laptop to go through some emails before they turn in for the night once Michael has finished with the quick massage.

Alex pauses in his search, putting the laptop aside so he can turn onto his side, propped up by his elbow to look at Michael. “If you don’t want to talk about this, you don’t have to,” he says, wanting to make sure that Michael knows he’s not forcing him to. “I want to know, because I want to know more about you,” he says, moving his palm to Michael’s chest to slide it over his heart. “What happened with your Mom?”

“You already know what I know.”

“Are you sure that’s it, Michael?” Alex asks, because he doesn’t want to doubt it, but his mother knowing Nora is _strange_ , and his Mom acts like Nora ran, not that something happened to her.

He’s been texting her and calling constantly, but Mindy’s been ignoring his calls. Maybe she’s hurt and humiliated, and maybe she just doesn’t want to talk about it.

Michael gives a soft laugh, even if it doesn’t reach his eyes. He looks hurt, as if this one has yet to stop stinging. “I don’t actually know.” He grabs his pillow and adjusts it, lying on his side to stare at Alex as they curl in together. “Officially, she’s still a missing person, but I think I lost hope of actually finding her a long time ago. Maybe she was never taken. Maybe she just left.” 

It clearly stings him to admit it, like he’s been wounded to have to admit that his mother could have even hypothetically done that.

“I’m sorry,” Alex says, his fingers sliding through Michael’s curls as he strokes in steady little touches to try and soothe him, if only to make the story easier to tell.

“I was seventeen,” Michael says, “I’d already been going to UNM for a year at that point,” he explains. “And one day, I came home from school and she wasn’t there. I called everyone we knew. I called our family, our friends, our neighbors, and no one had seen her. We filed a report with the police, but they never found anything. Nothing,” he says, biting out the word with severe frustration. “No struggle, no evidence that anything went wrong, and nothing to indicate that she was hurt, she just vanished and that’s not like my Mom.”

“You think something went down? Maybe she’s in hiding?” Alex asks, given the way Michael is bristling and seems unsatisfied with the explanation.

The wild shrug means that Michael probably does, but he’d believe anything if it got him his mother back. “Maybe? I don’t know. Why would she go without me?”

“I could look into it,” Alex offers. “I’ve hacked a lot more secure databases. The local police department’s files should be easy, if you want me to see what their last known lead was. Maybe we could investigate it ourselves?”

Michael doesn’t look sure, but he hasn’t said no.

“I promise that until I find something concrete, I won’t fill you with false hope,” Alex vows, as he sits up in bed and clasps Michael’s hands in his. “You help me with my prosthetic and you’re there to support me any way I need to. Let me do that for you, okay? I might be better with a keyboard and screens, but I’m still pretty damn good at what I do.”

Michael presses his lips together, almost like he’s nervous. 

Alex needs to hear an answer before he starts. “Are you worried I won’t find anything?” Alex gently prods. “Or that I will?”

“Both,” Michael confesses, his voice sounding like it’s been scraped raw. 

“I won’t tell you unless I find something promising,” Alex vows. “Put it out of your head, okay?” He gives Michael’s temples a gentle rub. “Think about how you’re spending the night with your boyfriend and we’re gonna go to the movies next weekend. This whole weird family shit doesn’t have to be our lives.”

Alex still intends to chase the rabbit down into the depths of those murky morasses, but Michael doesn’t have to follow him down. 

The next day, between classes, Alex puts up a sign outside his office that says he’s closed for hours, boots up an old laptop and starts searching for any hints of Nora Truman. He finds the police report, and it breaks Alex’s heart to imagine Michael, at seventeen, filling these pages out in a frantic bid to find his mother. 

Once all the legitimate trails go cold, Alex starts delving a little deeper. He hacks into old military databases, pokes around the dark web, and contacts people that he hasn’t spoken to in years. Hours later, one of those sources replies to him that he thinks he’s seen Nora’s name on paperwork related to a facility in the state.

_you didn’t hear this from me, but there’s an installation in new mexico that shows up on satellite. former military, but there’s heat signatures in current day despite the fact that it’s meant to be shut down._

The information comes with a name.

“Caulfield,” he reads, not recognizing it. He pulls up the satellite imagery and sure enough, there looks to be approximately six signatures on the site. Alex flips between time-stamped photos and sees that four of the signatures never move, but the other two seem to roam.

It’s not a military installation. 

It’s a prison. 

Alex reaches out to that contact again to get the files, finding one with Nora Truman’s name within a file marked ‘N-39’. Glancing at the inside of the folder, what sends a chill down his spine is that this is an unofficial project, and it’s being run by Master Sergeant Jesse Manes. “Oh,” Alex says, like he’s stunned and completely unsurprised at the same time, fighting that balancing act.

Well, that’s a complication he hadn’t been expecting.

“Fuck,” he breathes out. 

It had already been messy with his mother involved, but now there are signs that Nora is alive, and that _Jesse_ has her. He glances at the coordinates of the prison and finds out that Caulfield is two hours from Roswell, which makes Alex wonder how many of Jesse’s “business trips” had been out to that prison.

If Jesse had kidnapped Nora when Michael was seventeen, then Alex had still been living under that roof when it happened. 

Could he have prevented it? 

He downloads the files onto an encrypted hard drive and clears his history, debating his next move. He has the information about what the place is and the schematics of how to get in, as well as the guard rotation, but he has no idea about _why_ it exists and why Nora? Why would Jesse kidnap and imprison an innocent woman? 

There’s only one surefire way to find out and he hates it. 

Alex leaves a text for Michael that he’ll be back in Albuquerque tomorrow and that he can feel free to use the key that he’d put in Michael’s office, giving him full access to Alex’s townhome while he’s gone.

Michael texts back within minutes to ask if he wants support, but this isn’t the kind of family gathering he wants Michael there for. He declines, as politely as he can, and begins the drive back to Roswell to face his father and demand answers for the multitude of questions he has, suddenly. 

Sitting outside the house in his SUV, Alex can’t help hoping that his mother isn’t home. As much as he usually appreciates her as a go-between, what Alex is about to confront Jesse with doesn’t deserve her audience. 

This is the last place in the world that Alex wants to be, but he also knows that if he’s going to get the kind of answers he’s searching for, it’s here. He can’t stop thinking about Nora’s name all over those files along with the moniker N-39. For the most part, Alex has kept his nose out of the family legacy, denying any offers to work on his father’s projects or to serve with his brothers. Now he’s wondering if that had been the right decision.

Alex gets out of his SUV, but it looks like he’s been expected. The screen porch swings open, and Alex comes face to face with a man who has all the answers he wants, and is inclined to give him nothing.

“Dad,” Alex says, his voice flat. 

Jesse doesn’t look surprised to see him.

“I should’ve known it was you,” Jesse says flatly, glancing at the folder in Alex’s hands. “I got the notification that someone was snooping around in my files. You suddenly care about the family legacy?”

It hits like an icy stone sinking in his stomach.

Whatever happened isn’t something fabricated on paper. “What did you do to Michael’s mother?”

“Only what she deserved. You don’t know what they are, Alex. You don’t know what you brought into my house,” he says, calmly, retreating back into the house. “It doesn’t matter, though. We lost the boy when we took her in, but you brought him back to us. Soon enough, Flint should have a cell ready for him too.”

“You can’t just lock away a guy I like,” Alex hisses at him, following him inside as his grip tightens on his crutch. “It’s barbaric! You can’t treat people like that!”

“People?” Jesse scoffs. “Alex, your little boyfriend isn’t _people_ , just like his whore of a mother wasn’t people. They’re aliens, hellbent on seducing the human race. His mother did it with my _wife_ and now her son is doing it to you, infiltrating our family.” 

Alex has been under fire in Iraq. He’s faced down the fire of opposing forces. He _lost his leg_ in the line of duty. The rushing din in his ears feels like it compares. It’s a tinny sound, almost like he’s losing his hearing, and maybe he has.

There’s no way Jesse just admitted to locking up a woman because she was having an affair with his wife.

“Do you hear yourself? Aliens?” Alex scoffs. “Maybe Mom just didn’t want to be with you!”

“That’s a child’s view of the world, Alex,” Jesse says calmly. “We don’t have many specimens yet. They’re very good at hiding. If it weren’t for our protections, she would have used her powers to escape. I could feel her trying, using them to persuade me,” he says, holding up his wrist to show the face of his watch, with a small inset of something yellow within it. “My grandfather passed this to me because he _knew_ about the alien threat.” 

Alex wants to be back in Albuquerque more than he can say. He wants to be in his house with Michael, curled up, not fighting his father’s insanity. 

“You’re crazy,” he accuses.

“You’re in denial,” Jesse retorts. “Haven’t you noticed that he’s not right? Your _boyfriend_ , don’t you catch things floating when you’re not looking? The plants around you, aren’t they too green, too healthy? Isn’t there a little voice inside your head that says that everything is perfect? That’s him. He’s doing the same thing to you that he did to Mindy.”

“Where is Mom?” he asks, calmly.

“I sent her to the store when I saw your car pulling up,” Jesse replies. 

So she didn’t know. 

“You’ve been keeping this from her. Mom fell in love,” he spits out, shouting at Jesse, “and you think it’s because an alien used some insane mind powers on her? Nora’s a good person! Alien or not,” he says decisively, not sure if he buys that part of it yet. 

His father might be an asshole, he might be vindictive, and he might be cruel, but insane isn’t one of the things that Jesse Manes has ever been. He thinks of the times as a child they’d joked about the Roswell crash and how Jesse always changed the subject, or how Flint would always say that they’re under their noses.

“Leave Caulfield alone, Alex,” Jesse warns. “You won’t like what you find.”

He knows for a fact he won’t. If there are prisoners, then Alex hates it sight unseen, but to know that one of them is his boyfriend’s mother means that there’s no way he’s going to sit back and let Caulfield just exist.

Still, Alex knows better than to threaten Jesse. 

He knows better than to warn him.

“You’re an asshole” he spits at his father, able to fight back when he’s no longer living under his roof. He fears for what might happen when his mother gets back, which is why he digs out his phone to send her a frantic text pleading with her to go to a motel for the night and that he’ll pick her up in the morning.

He tells her to use a fake name -- Mindy Truman -- and then adds that he knows what’s going on.

It’s only somewhat a lie. He knows where Nora is, he just hasn’t figured out if the rest is all true. Alien or not, though, Alex isn’t going to let those people languish away in a prison. 

“I might be an asshole, but you’re the one who’s deluded,” Jesse counters, a hand on the screen door as he gestures for Alex to leave. “Go back to your boyfriend. Enjoy being with him, because you’re on borrowed time.”

It’s a good thing Alex doesn’t carry a service weapon these days.

He might have shot two bullets in Jesse’s chest for a threat like that. 

Alex stands his ground and lingers in his SUV, not because he wants to engage or head inside to chase after Jesse, but because he needs to know that his mother isn’t going to walk back into this. Five minutes later, he gets a text with the address of a motel just off the interstate highway, sending him the room number and insisting that he explain what’s going on.

He will. He swears, he will.

Getting back in his SUV, Alex begins the drive home. Before he can talk to his mother about what he’s just found out, he needs to know whether there’s a shred of truth in Jesse’s delusions, and the answers to those questions are back in his townhouse in Albuquerque, waiting to be answered by his boyfriend.


	5. The Rescue (and the Rest of Their Lives)

It’s almost impressive, the way his life has completely imploded around him in the process of a single week’s time.

Alex keeps replaying the information in his head, but his brain feels like it keeps breaking. If it were just his father telling him this, he’d write it off as a lie, but the files and security footage, and evidence of human-like people and the implication that they have _powers_ is something that can’t be ignored as one of Jesse’s ploys to get his son to fall in line.

Still, aliens as an actual concept is easier to cope with than the second part of this impossible truth.

His boyfriend is an alien.

His boyfriend’s mother is an alien and Alex’s father imprisoned her ten years ago when Michael was seventeen. He doesn’t even understand his father’s endgame here, other than the fact that his father is a hateful and awful man and aliens are on the same list of offenses as ‘being gay’ and ‘being different’ for him. To him, they need to be locked away because they don’t belong and he thinks they’re trying to enact some coup over human beings. All this time, he really thought that the whole ‘aliens crash landed in Roswell’ had been a cover story, but maybe the truth’s been hiding in plain sight and he’s been ignoring it.

Michael doesn’t _seem_ different, though. 

Alex has been wracking his mind to pick out clues that he’s from another planet, but they aren’t there. Alex’s initial theory is still holding a lot of weight, too. He wouldn’t put it past Jesse to manufacture some elaborate bullshit story because of a stupid vendetta against a woman that Mindy fell in love with.

There’s one surefire way to get an answer and it’ll be with the man currently at Alex’s townhome. 

Alex arrives back to his townhome to the smell of onions caramelizing on the stove, chicken in the oven, and Michael standing there with a spatula, wearing an apron and his reading glasses as he absently turns the onions while he reads from a giant textbook. 

“I knew giving you that key was the best idea I ever had,” Alex admits, wrapping his arms around Michael’s waist from behind, burying his face in the forest green fisherman’s sweater Michael is wearing. 

He knows he has to ask a horrible question.

If the answer is no, then Alex is insane. Michael will probably think he’s mocking him, and he’ll leave. Michael’s mother is in a prison because Jesse is crazy, buying into some weird belief that Alex thinks he buys too.

If the answer is yes, then Alex is the son of a criminal who was keeping aliens captive, including Michael’s mother. If the answer is yes, then Michael is an alien and he’s been keeping the truth from him. 

Maybe the smarter thing to do is run away.

It’s a shame they’re in Alex’s townhome and it would look suspicious if he suddenly started pulling things together to bolt. Alex buries his face a little deeper in Michael’s sweater, holding on possessively tight.

Eventually, Michael notices. “Hey,” he says, easing him off. “Are you okay? Did something happen in one of your classes?”

“You remember how I said I’d tell you if I had anything concrete on your Mom?” 

Michael’s body goes tense. Alex can feel it, his face buried in Michael’s neck like this. “You wouldn’t bring it up unless you’d found something.”

Well, he’d known Michael was a genius and clearly, he’s also getting pretty good at reading Alex. 

Alex steps back and grasps the back of the dining chair so he can get a full view of Michael’s face. When he asks his question, he needs to be able to see his reaction in real-time. They’ve only been dating for a few weeks, but it’s been long enough for Alex to figure out that Michael is a miserable liar.

“Michael,” Alex decides that there’s no better way than being direct. “Are you an alien?”

The reaction happens almost instantly.

First, Michael drops the spatula into the frying pan. Alex reaches over to turn the heat off, suspecting that no matter what happens next, they’re done cooking for a while. Then, his eyes widen in shock. Lastly, he makes a wounded little noise, almost like Alex has taken a question and weaponized it to hurt him.

“How did you find out?”

That’s a yes, then.

His boyfriend is an alien. That’s going to take some getting used to. “I was digging for something on your mother and it turns out that my family is involved, beyond my mother knowing and loving yours. Mindy’s in a motel right now, waiting for me to go and explain this to her, but I owed it to you to talk to you first.” 

Alex feels like he’s compartmentalizing and not paying attention to the fact that his boyfriend just confessed that he is an alien. 

“You know that I don’t care, right?” Alex speaks, when the raw silence continues between them. “You never gave a fuck about the fact that I’m missing my leg. You don’t care that sometimes I flinch when an engine backfires. You take me as Alex Manes, professor, and you don’t care about the other parts of me. I don’t care if you’re an alien wearing a human skinsuit and you’re green with antennae under there, I just…”

He trails off, unable to hide from the fact that he is a little hurt that Michael hadn’t told him. He’d taken him home, to a household that abused Alex and left him with a traumatized childhood. He’d let his mother talk to Michael. He’d exposed every part of himself, and Michael had held this back. 

True, it’s not like a shitty father is on par with being an alien from outer space, but Alex isn’t thinking logically right now. 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Michael vows, sliding his glasses to the top of his curls as he reaches out for Alex’s hand to hold. “It’s more that I haven’t thought of myself as an alien in years. I barely use my powers, I don’t visit the others, I don’t work on my ship anymore. Ever since Mom went missing, I feel like I naturalized.” He gives Alex a rueful smile. “Renounced my citizenship, I guess you could say.” 

He’s an alien.

Michael is an alien. 

And it doesn’t change a thing about how Alex feels about him. It’s a relief, but not a long-lived one, because as okay with this as Alex is, he’s not sure Michael will feel the same once he finds out what’s going on. 

“I found your mother.” 

Michael tightens his grip on Alex’s hand, yanking himself forward to grab Alex into a jubilant hug, so excited that his glasses end up toppling off his head and go falling onto the ground. He’s laughing brightly, but Alex remains somber, letting Michael have this brief moment before Alex ruins it all. 

“Alex! Alex, that’s incredible, why aren’t you…?”

“She’s in a prison, off the grid, being kept there by my father.” 

He feels the moment Michael’s grip loosens on him. For all that Alex has thrown a bucket of icy water over Michael with the revelation, Alex can’t help feeling like he’s severed off another of his limbs in telling Michael. He hangs his head, wishing he didn’t understand why Michael had let go of him like that.

He wishes he could tell himself it’s just the shock, but the thing, he’s not sure he can.

“I had no idea, Michael, I swear,” Alex insists. “I only found out last night what my father’s done and we won’t let it stand. Even if you never want to see me again.”

Michael seems pulled out of his shocked stupor by those words.

“What? I…” He shakes his head. “Alex?” he ekes out, sounding rough. “Why wouldn’t I want to see you again?”

“I wouldn’t blame you for breaking up with me after you found out that my family is the reason that you haven’t had your mother with you for the last ten years,” Alex says, trying to sound understanding and empathetic, even if every cell inside of him is dying right now, thinking of this perfect thing he’s got going ending. He knows that if the situation were reversed, it would be a lot. It’s why he puts space between them, if only physical, to give Michael that choice.

Michael gapes at him. “You had no idea about this. In fact, you’re the one who found it.”

“And my father put your mother in there!”

“You’re not your Dad, Alex,” Michael spits at him, almost like he’s angry at Alex for trying to take the blame. “She’s alive, right? My mother is alive?”

Alex nods. The files for N-39 show Nora’s admission ten years ago with the other three subjects and the latest aerial satellite photos show heat signatures of those same four people. There’s been minimal movement, and it’s enough for Alex to deduce that she’s alive and moving, even though he won’t fully believe it until he sees it with his own eyes.

“Then why the hell would I blame you when you’re giving me my mother back,” Michael protests, his voice raw.

“I found her, I don’t have a plan to get her back yet.”

Michael gives Alex a fond smile. “I think we both know that’s bullshit,” he drawls. “I know you’re trying not to get my hopes up, but you’re cooking something in there, aren’t you?”

It’s a testament to how well Michael knows Alex that he’s right. It’s not fully formed and he’s still working out the details, but he also knows that if he doesn’t make a move soon, Jesse could get the drop on him and who knows what he might do if he’s feeling like his son has humiliated him. Alex still feels a little sick, almost like he’s not able to trust that Michael isn’t really mad at him. 

And yet, Michael looks _hopeful_.

“I just told you that your mother is in a prison of my father’s making, because my mother fell in love with her and my father freaked out,” he says, watching Michael in disbelief. “How can you be so hopeful?”

“Because for the first time in ten years, I know where she is,” Michael says, his eyes glistening with tears. “I know she didn’t leave me. I know she didn’t choose this. And most of all, Alex, I trust you. You’re the only one in this world I trust completely to get her back.” 

It’s a big confession. 

“I will do everything I can,” Alex vows, not wanting to let Michael down. He glances past Michael to make sure the burner is off, knowing that the next step means they have to move fast. “Mom’s in a motel off the highway,” Alex says, grabbing his coat and waiting for Michael. “I told her I’d go explain things to her. You’re coming, right?”

“Of course I am,” Michael says sharply. “Because after we talk to her, we keep driving until we find Caulfield and I use my powers to blow the fucking roof off the prison that your father is keeping my people inside.” 

“We … might need to approach it with more caution,” Alex hates to shoot down Michael’s plan, but he kind of has to. 

Michael wrinkles his nose, but he relents as he mutters, “Probably should leave the tactical planning to the former Air Force Captain and not the engineering professor, huh?”

“Don’t worry,” Alex vows. “That big brain of yours is going to come in _very_ handy.”

“Knew you had a plan,” Michael quips, giving Alex a wink that sends a frisson of inappropriately-timed pleasure through Alex. He turns off the lights and packages up the finished pieces of dinner so it’s waiting on their return, grabbing his coat and wallet, pushing Alex out the door. 

The drive to the motel is mostly silent, though they make small talk about their classes. Michael ends up calling in for both of them, leaving messages on their departments’ voicemails about taking a few days off for a family emergency.

“Just in case,” Michael says quietly. 

He hates the doubtful tremble in Michael’s voice, that he’s not _sure_ that they’ll need the time. He hates it. Instantly, he’s determined to make sure that Michael is going to use those days off to reconnect with his mother. They’re not for mourning. He’s going to make sure of that. 

Alex finds the motel his mother has checked into, turning off the lights as he pulls into a parking spot outside of her room. He sends her a text that they’re there and they’ll be in soon. Turning off the engine, Alex clenches the steering wheel with his hands, his nerves getting the better of him.

He doesn’t even notice Michael reaching over to cover his hands with his own until he feels the warmth of his skin. It drags a memory to the forefront, and he realizes that there are things that have been in plain sight that he’s been ignoring.

“Your core temperature is higher, isn’t it?”

Michael hums softly. “Yeah, not high enough that I thought you’d notice.”

“Honestly? I just thought you burned hot,” Alex admits, but it’s not Michael who gave it away. It’s the heat signatures in the satellite imagery. The four barely-moving signatures had burned hotter, which implies alien. “It’s a neat trick.”

“You’re just saying that because you have five icy toes,” Michael teases.

“Hey, guilty as charged.” Alex is grateful for even the brief distraction.

Sitting outside the room, Alex stares at the room illuminated by fluorescent lights and he’s, weirdly, unspeakably nervous. It’s one thing to tell a boy that his mother is alive and they know where she is.

It’s another to tell the woman’s lover that it all happened because of a jealous husband.

“Hey,” Michael says quietly. “We could always wait until after.” 

Alex shakes his head, though he knows it’s a viable option. “She deserves to know,” he insists, even if his voice sounds small. “Even if only to keep her away from my father, she needs to know what happened ten years ago.”

“Just remember, you’re not doing this alone,” Michael vows, resting his hand atop Alex’s as he squeezes gently. “We’ll figure out a plan. We’ll make sure no one else gets hurt.”

They’ll make sure that Jesse Manes and his family don’t hurt anyone else, though maybe it’s not worth thinking about that way. It’s not the whole Manes family. It’s Jesse and some of his sons. 

The remainder of the Manes family would give anything to love Nora Truman and her boy. 

On the momentum of Michael’s promise, Alex decides he’s ready to face the music. He gets out of the truck, steeling himself for what’s to come. He can hear Michael’s footsteps closely behind, which gives him the courage he needs to knock on the door. 

“Mom,” Alex calls quietly, just in case she’s worried. “It’s me and Michael.”

She unlatches the door, but not the chain just yet, peering through the divide. The moment she sees that it really is them, she hurries them inside, closing and locking the door behind her. “I’ve been ignoring Jesse’s calls, and I turned off my phone’s location,” she says. 

It’s probably not enough, but it’s not something he wants to scare his mother with. 

“Why did you tell me to come here, Alex?”

“Because Jesse just found out that I know what he’s been doing.”

He shifts his weight to support himself with a hand on the desk, wishing he’d taken time to sit, but Michael helps shift him to the end of the bed. 

“What has Jesse been doing, Alex?” Mindy asks, a fearful look in her eye.

“He found out that you were having an affair, Mom. He knows about Nora and he’s the reason that he took her from you and locked her up. She’s alive, Mom.” He wouldn’t ever go so far as to say that she’s well, but he figures he’ll start with this bombshell. 

Alex hates being the one to tell her this. He hates the way her face goes so white and shocked, and he hates the way it looks like he’s broken her heart. He wants to tell her that he doesn’t care that she’d been cheating on Jesse, that he understands, but there are way more important things they need to talk about. 

The absolution of guilt can come later. 

Now that Alex has settled on the end of the bed, he watches Michael take the office chair to sit just out of the way. The shock sloughs off Mindy, and she begins to move again in frantic, small steps as she paces the terrible motel carpet, wringing her hands. Her hair has slipped out of its bun, wisps falling into her face as she keeps pushing it back, clearly distraught. 

“Nora is alive,” she echoes.

“Mom, you have to tell us more,” Alex insists. “Where did you and Nora meet? How did you fall in love? How could Jesse have found out?” 

There are pieces of this story still missing. They’re going to do something about this, but Alex needs to know if his mother really loves Nora, if she wants her back, and how far she’s willing to go to get her. 

“Your mother is a brilliant woman,” Mindy says, pausing in her pacing so she can speak directly to Michael. Alex knows that he’s going to be an observer for this conversation and that he doesn’t really belong, but he’s okay with that. He wants to know about Michael’s mother and he wants to learn more about his own. This is the way that happens. He smiles, proudly, unsurprised that Michael’s genius had been passed down through his mother’s genes. “She specialized in agricultural engineering. We met when I was doing some work with the local farmers and she was looking for land to test her machines on.” 

Mindy tugs at the pendant she always wears, a teardrop ruby, and rubs her thumb over it as she smiles ruefully.

“[She had a green thumb like I’d never seen before](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047291/chapters/68710974). The crops on the reservation were failing from a blight, but within a single season, your mother reinvigorated our fields and gave the town a way to sustain ourselves. When I asked how she could do something like that, she smiled, slyly, and said she had her ways.”

“What year was this?” Alex asks, trying to remember any of this happening.

“You were only three,” Mindy says fondly. “Michael had the most angelic head of curls. Nora would bring him while we met and she worked, and he’d solve puzzles and scribble in a book like no three-year-old had a right to do.” Her gaze slides to Michael fondly. “You were a genius right from the start.”

That explains why Alex can’t remember this starting. He’d been too young, and if he remembers family history properly, that had also been when Jesse was overseas on assignment, which meant he hadn’t been able to stop it from happening. 

“I brought you once, Alex,” Mindy says. “Nora met my baby boy, and we let you and Michael sit off in the corner and play.” Her gaze slides between the two of them, shaking her head. “I didn’t realize I was matchmaking you two at so young an age.”

Michael hasn’t said a thing. He still looks shocked. Alex is beginning to feel it creep in, but maybe there’s something to be said about the reason he feels so right with Michael. Maybe, all this time, it’s been meant to be.

“In retrospect, knowing what she’d told me, what she did with the crops, that was her power?” 

Alex isn’t sure why he’s shocked to hear his mother speak so casually of _powers_ , but then, it looks as though there had been no secrets between Mindy and Nora. 

“Not all of it,” Michael finally speaks up. “Her powers would only take her so far, but Mom’s also a genius. She would have had to design some tech. She might have used alien materials to do it, but it would’ve been part-mechanical.” He’s leaning forward, his forearms on his thighs, like he’s determined to hear all of it. “What next?”

“Well, her project was done, but I felt something. It was a connection, a sense of belonging that I’d never felt before. I gave Nora my phone number and we went our separate ways, but as the months drew on, I felt empty without her. You’d started to attend gifted schools, so Nora had a lot of time alone. I’d drive up and we’d get coffee, go to movies. You were nine when our friendship became something more.” 

Mindy’s grasp tightens on the pendant as she stares into the middle distance.

“I don’t know when I fell in love,” she admits. “You never do,” she says, her gaze sliding to Alex as if asking for confirmation. “She gave me this necklace the night she told me she loved me, and I said the same in return.”

He freezes, feeling like she’s cut him open and let him bleed out for Michael to see. It’s because he hasn’t approached the words ‘I love you’ with his boyfriend, but he’s felt them. He’d known, within the first two dates that he felt a connection to Michael unlike anything else. He’d known, then, that he had the capability to love Michael extremely deeply.

Weeks later, here he is, stupidly in love with Michael Guerin, even if he hasn’t been able to say it out loud just yet. 

“One day, she vanished. I went to pick her up, but she was gone. It looked as if she’d left in a hurry and I thought to myself that she panicked. I thought that my marriage or Jesse had spooked her, or maybe simply the fact that we were getting more serious.” Her grip on the pendant tightens. “Which, that isn’t true at all, is it?”

“Dad took her,” Alex confirms quietly. “I don’t know how he found out.” 

He has his suspicions. Privacy had never been guaranteed in the Manes household. Maybe Jesse had found text messages or maybe he’d just noticed when Mindy started wearing a new piece of jewelry. 

“I didn’t know that he knew,” Mindy finally answers the last of Alex's questions. “I thought Nora ran, that Jesse never had a chance to figure it out, but that’s not true, is it? We were careful,” she protests, her voice soft. “Well,” she amends, with far more pain in her tone, “I suppose I thought we were.” 

“She’s not staying there,” Michael says fiercely. “My Mom isn’t staying in that prison, we’re getting her out.”

That seems to steel Mindy’s resolve, her attention moving to Alex. “I’m helping.”

It’s not a question. 

Alex isn’t exactly surprised. “I figured you’d say that,” he admits. “Both of you, I have no idea what the last ten years has been like for her and…” He trails off, scared about what awful experiments Jesse ran to try and figure Nora and the other aliens out. “If you’re in this with me, then I need Michael to help work on the plans and Mom, I need you to go back to the house in Roswell to clear out some supplies.”

Her shock has turned to resolve. Alex has given Mindy an enemy to focus on, even if that enemy happens to be her current husband.

“Give me a list,” Mindy says calmly. “I won’t need more than a day. He won’t know that anything has changed, I’ll tell him that I went to stay with my sister and I’ll make sure the story checks out.”

“Good,” Alex says, letting Michael help him to his feet so he can kiss his mother’s cheek. “I’m sorry that I never knew about this side of your life.”

Mindy gives him a rueful smile, glancing to Michael over his shoulder. “I’d say that I’m sorry I didn’t let you in on the alien secret, but you found that one out when you were meant to, I think.” She squeezes his wrist, pulling him in so she can kiss his other cheek. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to know that you take after my side of the family.” Her smile turns slightly lascivious and puts thoughts in Alex’s head that he wishes weren’t there. “Excellent taste.”

“Oh my god, Mom,” Alex protests, feeling like a teenager again as his cheeks flush red.

“Send me the list, and then the plan,” Mindy says. “Nora is not spending any more time in a jail cell than she has to. Do you understand me, Alex Manes?”

“Crystal clear.”

He doesn’t want to stay and hear any other implied sex stories about his mother, so Alex heads out, feeling Michael at his back, though he’s yet to say much at all. Once he closes the motel door behind him, he finally exhales. Out comes all the stress and the nerves. Michael’s hand on his back makes him jump, because Michael’s just spent the last hour being more silent than he’s been since they met.

“Regretting anything yet?” Michael asks. 

“Only that we can’t go tonight,” Alex admits, already digging out his phone to start making the list of things he wants from the house in Roswell. “What about you? You regretting asking me out for coffee after that first mentorship meeting?” 

Michael is still grinning at him, his fingers catching Alex’s collar as he gently tugs him in for a slow kiss under the fluorescent lights of the motel, blinking neon blues and pinks on his face. “Only that I didn’t get to date you earlier,” he whispers, once he’s released Alex.

There’s an ache in his chest, but it’s not stress or pain.

It’s the relief Alex feels as he lets go of his fears that this would’ve let to the end of him and Michael. The ache is Alex finally unclenching and understanding that he’s not responsible for his father’s sins and that he can guarantee his own happiness, along with his mother’s if he does this right.

“Come on,” he encourages. “It’s time we got a plan in place.”

They’re bringing Nora home, no matter what it takes.

* * *

Mindy arrives in the middle of the night two days later, once Alex has everything he needs in place. 

Michael had offered to wait outside for her, but Alex isn’t having it. He’s been having a rough week and the truth is that he needs to see this through. It’s why he’s standing outside his townhouse at two in the morning, wrapped up in one of Michael’s cardigans, and leaning on his crutch while Michael naps inside. He watches his mother park the car and step out under the streetlights, carrying an overnight bag.

“Did he see you leave?” Alex asks calmly. 

“He was out,” she says.

It should be good news, but it’s not. That means he was probably out at the prison, now that Alex’s research has unearthed it. Who knows what he’s doing to Nora and the other aliens he has there? 

“Did you get what I asked for?”

Mindy hands Alex the duffel bag, which he brings inside the townhome to find that Michael hasn’t been sleeping at all. Instead, he’s been waiting for them, a wary look on the bag that Alex has taken. “What is it?”

Alex unzips the bag to show Michael the guns and the knives that were in the house. It’s every weapon that Jesse might use against them and every manifested piece of fear that Alex has lived with. “We don’t know what we’re walking into and I surrendered my service pistol when I was discharged.”

“Are these legal?” Michael demands, then thinks better of it. “Nah, you know what? Fuck it. Man’s keeping my mother in an illegal prison, I wanna use his own axe against him.”

“Thatta boy,” Alex jokes, but he doesn’t miss the way Michael’s cheeks flush with the praise. 

They’ll be able to spend more time with that later. For now, they have a limited window to do something about Caulfield and find Nora Truman. 

“Come on,” he encourages, helping to get Michael and Mindy situated in the back of the SUV. “We’ve got about a two hour drive, so we should be getting there when security is at its lowest.” Alex isn’t feeling so lucky that he thinks Jesse won’t be there, though, not when he’s on high alert and is expecting something to happen. 

It’s fine.

Alex had planned for that. If anything, it’s why Mindy is coming. Alex doesn’t have backup these days, he doesn’t have a unit, but he does have to hope that Jesse’s possessive love for Mindy will kick in and help them out. 

He drives in near-silence, keeping his mind focused on the mission. In the backseat, Michael and Mindy are quietly talking about memories of Nora, seeing what they share and what new light they can shed on the woman’s life. Alex uses it as an anchor to weigh himself down with purpose.

Caulfield should never have existed, but they’re driven by a single woman who matters so much to both Michael and to Mindy.

Alex has to hope that one day, she’ll matter to him just as much, if things with Michael aren’t over. Michael’s been vocal about the fact that this doesn’t change things between them, but until they get Nora back, Alex isn’t so sure he trusts that to be true. Who knows what might happen if Alex can’t deliver his mother back to him?

To pass the time, Alex reviews the plan and all the backup plans he’s developed. He really is counting on light resistance, hoping that his intel is right and this is just Jesse’s awful side project. 

Leaving nothing to chance, Alex had called in a few anonymous tips, timed to hit right when they’re hopefully escaping. Rescuing Nora and the others remains the key priority, but denigrating Jesse’s reputation is also on the books, to make sure he doesn’t get a second shot at this.

Having respectable agencies catch Jesse writing files on alien prisoners (even if it’s all true) should be the exact kind of embarrassing work that should strip Jesse of respect from all external agencies. 

“We’re here,” Alex calls over his shoulder as he turns the lights off and lowers his speed so the SUV doesn’t kick up dust as he drives up to the side of the prison. 

It might be the middle of the night or maybe just the stories that have led them here, but arriving at the outskirts of Caulfield at this hour makes Alex feel like he’s pulled up to the site of a ghost story. Only a few floodlights are on outside, illuminating two cars -- Jesse’s, and one that Alex doesn’t recognize.

If it were Alex and his own secret facility was discovered by enemy intel, then he would move the bodies and then dispose of the evidence.

The thing that scares Alex is the idea that Jesse might decide to do both of those things in one fell swoop.

“Can you go over the plan again?” Michael asks from the backseat, where he’s sitting with Mindy.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, Alex is reminded (not for the first time in the last few days) how ill-equipped they are to face this. Alex might have served, but he’s a professor now and the most stress he gets is when he has a pile of exams to grade. Michael might be an alien, but he uses his powers for engineering and to open the occasional beer bottle, from what he’s been told. And Alex’s mother, she doesn’t deserve to have to suffer through this at all.

They’re not an army, but they’re also not about to lose the people they love.

Luckily, Alex has a plan that doesn’t require a tactical assault. It just requires a little distraction. Michael knows most of the plan and so does his Mom, but it never hurts to go over it again so that everyone is on the same page. “Mom and I are going to go find Jesse, disable any security and find the guard he has on duty. Don’t touch anything,” Alex warns. “You need to do two things. You find the blueprints to deactivate any electrical system boobytraps that might be set up, and you need to record as much footage as you can.”

He presses a burner phone into Michael’s hands, clasping his hand tightly as he holds Michael’s gaze.

“Tell me you understand. Even if you see your mother, even if you see someone else you know, you need to keep recording until we know it’s safe to get these people out.” 

Michael nods. He reaches forward as he unbuckles, the seatbelt sliding away as he grabs Alex’s cheeks to kiss him, harder than he’s been kissed in a very long time.

It feels, scarily, like a goodbye kiss.

“Hey, no,” Michael whispers, when Alex grabs him a little too tight. “I’m just so goddamn relieved that I met you and that we’re doing this.” He glances over his shoulder when he hears the car door gently shut. “Stay with your Mom, I’ll rewire any security system Jesse has in place, record evidence, and meet you at rendezvous. Then, we get them all out.”

“We get them all out,” Alex echoes. 

Alex lingers behind to help Mindy out of the car, and they both stay a step behind Michael. While he’s yet to see it in action, Michael has told him that he can handle the lock of the door with his telekinesis. 

He can also handle any threats, but Alex is hoping it doesn’t come to that.

Two cars, Alex tells himself. Two cars means that if there is a mounted resistance, it’s built into the place and it’s not going to come at the hands of a secret force. If it’s automated, then Alex is counting on his genius engineering boyfriend to be able to take it apart, and if he can’t, then Alex is no slouch in the programming game either.

“Are you okay?” Mindy asks, wrapping her hands around his arm as they move quietly behind Michael.

“You’re the one who just found out the woman you love got imprisoned by Dad,” Alex whispers back, giving her a dubious look. “I’m pretty sure that’s my question.”

Mindy presses her lips together tightly. “It is something terrible to learn that the man you married is as much of a monster as you were hoping he wasn’t. I think we both knew that. I think we both hoped otherwise.”

Alex pointedly doesn’t say that he’d written off Jesse years ago, but he thinks it. 

He’s using the flashlight on his cell phone to illuminate their path, reaching a side utility door that Alex remembers from the blueprints. This should give them access to the facility without alerting anyone that they’re there. Michael nods to it with his chin, then raises his brows at Alex, as if asking for permission.

He doesn’t remember officially taking lead on this, but he’s still grateful Michael isn’t throwing caution to the wind. 

Alex watches Michael like a hawk for evidence of how his powers work. He’s almost disappointed, though, because he hears the click of the lock giving way, but apart from Michael narrowing his eyes, nothing happened.

He _hates_ that he hears his father’s voice in his mind, asking what else Michael might have done without Alex realizing. 

That’s not Michael. That’s not something that should even be considered.

He tamps down on that hateful doubt and moves inside, keeping Mindy between them. The corridor they’re in has no lights on, probably in sleep mode, but after a few steps, they don’t flicker on with their movement, so they’re not set off by motion. Alex lightly taps on a panel, giving Michael a nod.

“You can disable all the electricity here,” he says, digging into his coat for the blueprints he’d drawn up from his online sources. “Take it all offline, then record footage. If you think someone is coming, hide. We’ll meet you at the rendezvous, understood?”

There’s no response from Michael, who’s staring at the panel like he’s just been given a puzzle to solve.

“Michael,” Alex hisses, trying to get his attention.

“I heard you,” he says, yanking off his coat as he takes the blueprints between his teeth. “Bottom of the stairs,” he confirms the meeting place, even if it’s a muffled sound with the paper in his mouth. 

Alex lingers for longer than he should, almost like he’s scared to turn away from him. He knows that nothing awful is going to happen to Michael if he leaves him. He’s smart, he’s capable, and he has _alien powers_ , which means he can handle himself.

That still doesn’t make it easy. 

“Alexander,” his mother quietly chides, pulling on his hand.

“Right,” he says, turning to focus on the task at hand. He’s gone over it so many times that he should know it by now, but Alex hadn’t counted on how difficult it would be to put into place the moment he actually needs to separate from Michael to get it done. “This way,” Alex indicates, nodding towards the stairs. 

If there’s a lookout in this place, it will be up there. 

Mindy follows him quietly, and they don’t run into anyone. The lights are off in this portion of the prison, which confirms Alex’s theory that they came in a back way, and that the main cells are down another hallway at the bottom of the main stairs.

That’s their rendez-vous point, when they’re ready to reconnect. 

Alex keeps a hand on his pistol as he leads, adjusting his backpack and keeping Mindy behind him at least three-quarters of the way, because the last thing he needs is to regret bringing her along. 

“Door,” she whispers. 

Alex presses up against the wall, coaxing Mindy to do the same. He reaches out for the doorknob, but there’s no lockpicking required. The door gives way, almost like someone’s expecting to come back. Alex lets the door fall open, peeking around the corner once, then a second time, confirming his initial suspicions. 

The room is empty.

On the screens, security footage plays. Alex watches the loops a few times, establishing where everyone is. The four prisoners are in their cells. It’s too dark to make out which is which, but he sees a woman with blonde hair and imagines it can’t be anyone else. Alex spares a second look for her, switching the cameras until he finds Michael, who’s creeping along another corridor (that looks like labs) and recording video.

The eerie thing, right now, is not knowing where the others are.

Alex sees the night guard, finally. He’s sitting in the small little cafeteria, eating. Within moments, he finds Jesse, too.

“Shit,” he hisses, and grabs at his mother’s elbow to give her a light tug. He has to double back, remembering to disable the security protocols, but in the process, he’s also making sure that the safety for the gun is taken off.

There’s no telling what Jesse will do, especially not when he’s positioned himself outside of Nora’s cell. Worse, what happens if Nora figures out the cell doors are open? The last thing Alex wants is for Nora to have to live with something that she might regret, if Jesse ends up dead and his death is on her hands.

“Alex?” Mindy calls after him. “Alex, what’s happening?” 

“Just stay behind me,” he orders.

“Don’t use your Captain Manes voice on me, Alexander!” Mindy warns, but her voice is slightly behind him, which means that she’s listening. Alex has to grab at the railing to support him as he tears down the staircase, wincing and cursing under his breath the whole time. 

It’s still not enough. He’s not there quickly enough, because Michael beats him to it. With Michael disabling the systems and Alex taking the security offline, the prisoner’s doors have swung open. The three other aliens are crowding Michael, but Nora is still sitting, calmly, in her prison cell.

It definitely has to do with the fact that Jesse is looming outside of her door, gun in hand.

“That’s a bad idea,” Michael warns. 

“Hey!” Alex shouts, right on the cusp of Michael’s words. 

It works. Jesse doesn’t know where to look. His attention shoots left to Michael, then right to Alex, and in the ensuing chaos, Michael lifts his hand and the gun goes flying out of Jesse’s hands, collapsing on the ground. 

Nora stands, then, staring at Michael like she hadn’t registered his presence until now. 

“Whatever you think you’re going to do, step back,” Alex warns Jesse. “Michael, did you get the footage?” 

“I stripped the security tapes and took some cell footage on my way here,” he vows, his eyes still on Jesse, even as he steps towards Nora’s cell. “You?” 

“I love it when a plan comes together,” Alex quips.

Michael’s face softens with affection as he fondly says, “Geek.”

“Yeah,” Alex agrees, his gun firmly fixed on Jesse, because even if Michael is flirting with him, he has other priorities. “This is what’s happening and you don’t get a say. Your night guard is eating lunch and I locked that door from the outpost, so you are alone. You’re outnumbered. More importantly,” Alex says, his voice icy and calm, “you made the wrong choice deciding to take Nora Truman. She goes free. They all go free. Michael’s taken the footage of this place, which I know isn’t authorized by anyone because you’re not receiving any funding. You come after me, Michael, her, or any of these other _people_ and that footage will find its way to the inboxes of the people you respect the most.”

“That sounds like a threat, Alex,” Jesse comments.

“Good. It’s supposed to,” Alex scoffs. “I looked away for too long. Maybe if I’d paid more attention, Nora never would’ve been taken. You want a career? You want to be respectable? You drop this and don’t pick it up again. You’re not going to like what happens if you do.”

He’s only threatening on his behalf. Given some of Michael’s angrier comments over the last few days, there are things the aliens could do to him that usually only happen in sci-fi thrillers. Jesse will be lucky to keep a career, if Michael had his way. 

Hell, if Michael did what he wanted to, Jesse would be a dribbling idiot barely able to speak. 

It’s a tempting thought, but Alex is trying to make sure he and his people take the higher road.

“Do you understand?”

Jesse scowls at him, moving like he wants to strike like some kind of stupid pit viper, but he says nothing at all. He seems to be weighing his options, glancing around him at the fact that he’s surrounded (and by the very people he imprisoned or their loved ones, no less).

“Do,” Alex reiterates, his voice dropped twenty degrees in temperature, “you understand?”

Alex should hate that he feels such a thrilling rush to be getting one over his father like this, but it’s been a very long time coming.

“Crystal clear,” Jesse spits out, miserable about it.

“Good,” Alex says, smiling as he gestures for Mindy and Michael to move. 

He hasn’t relaxed his stance, hasn’t taken his eyes off Jesse, and the safety is still off. Jesse might have agreed, but they’re not out of this yet. He nods for Michael to go to his mother, but hopes that the severe expression on his face makes it clear that it needs to be quick and they need to keep moving. 

While Michael and Mindy rush to Nora’s side, Alex calmly gestures for the other aliens to move behind him. They all look to be around Nora’s age, ranging from their early forties to late fifties. Alex can’t even begin to imagine where Jesse found these poor people, he’s just grateful that they don’t have to stay here. 

“Mindy,” Nora says with a sob, rushing towards her. “Michael, sweetheart,” she adds, one hand buried in his curls, the other around Mindy’s neck. 

Alex watches them and feels an overwhelming sense of relief and accomplishment. His leg feels like it might give out under him, but he grabs the railings of the nearby staircase, keeping the other aliens protected behind him as he keeps a gun on Jesse. 

“The side door is open,” Alex tells them. “There’s an SUV there, we’re going to drive you in shifts to the nearest town with Mindy, we’ll make arrangements to get you back to your families.” He’s assuming that Nora had been the first, and the other prisoners had come after, which means they might still have people looking for them.

Luckily, none of them intend to linger. They keep moving, which means Alex just needs to focus on getting his mother, his boyfriend, and Nora out safely. 

Nora hasn’t figured out who she wants to greet first, so she’s trying to have it both ways. It’s only when Nora grasps Mindy’s face with both hands and pulls her in for a messy, sobbing kiss, that Jesse finds another shred of fight in him. 

“She’s using her powers on you, Mindy,” Jesse spits at her, clearly not understanding that he’s already lost. Alex shakes his head to try and convince Michael not to take the bait, but it’s Mindy who freezes up.

They have their escape route, the other aliens are clear with Alex protecting their exodus. They just need to keep moving and this will all be over. Jesse taunting them is expected, but they can’t stoop to his level.

“Mom,” Alex pleads under his breath. 

It’s only then, that he remembers, that she’d _taken one of the guns_ , just in case.

“Mom!” Alex says sharply, this time more panicked as he turns to see that Mindy has the gun drawn and holding on Jesse, her hands trembling as she takes aim. 

“Nora never had to use her powers to get me to love her. Do you know how she did it, Jesse? She respected me. She listened to me. She wanted to know about my day and my boys, and she held me when I cried. She praised me when I succeeded. All those years, you were absent or worse, and she was there for me. She _loves_ me. That’s not because she’s an alien. It’s because she’s more human than you could ever be."

The gun is still shaking in her hands and Alex doesn’t think he can get the safety on without putting himself in the bullet’s path.

“Mom, easy,” he warns.

“I know what I’m doing, baby,” Mindy vows, not taking her steely gaze off Jesse. Alex wishes that were reassuring, but given the distasteful curl of her lips as she stares at Jesse, he’s starting to think that he’s going to have to cover up for a murder tonight.

“You wouldn’t do it,” Jesse snaps at her.

Alex rolls his eyes, muttering under his breath, “Are you trying to get shot, you asshole?” he hisses, desperately trying to signal to Michael to use his powers to put the safety on his mother’s gun. Michael is useless, though, staring at his mother like he’s a seven-year-old again, clearly desperate to hold onto her, lest she vanish again. 

The coast isn’t clear yet and there’s a loaded gun in the middle of it all. 

“I should have left you a long time ago,” Mindy says calmly. 

“You would have been making a mistake, Mindy.”

Alex thinks they’re in the clear. They’re moving, they’re almost out, and things seem to be calming between Mindy and Jesse. 

He’s so stupidly wrong, even though he doesn’t want to see it. It’s why he doesn’t see the shot coming, why the echoing reverberations of the bullet make him jump with alarm. Alex gapes at the gun in Mindy’s hands, then his fallen father, who’s clutching at his bleeding leg on the ground. 

“Please tell me you were aiming for his knee,” Alex pleads under his breath.

“I was,” Mindy assures, not taking her eyes off Jesse as she keeps the gun up. “Your father taught me to shoot. He wouldn’t stand for a wife who couldn’t defend her ground.” She approaches so she can look down on him, lip curling up with disgust. “I want a divorce,” she says, enunciating each word clearly so there’s no mistaking what she’s said.

“You’re insane,” Jesse spits at her.

Alex reaches for his mother’s arm, taking the gun out of her hands before she replies to that accusation with another bullet. “She’s perfectly sane,” he says and gives Mindy a gentle nudge, encouraging her to go and see Nora. “It’s over, Dad. You heard her. She wants a divorce. I wouldn’t keep that from her,” he says, absently gesturing to the bullet wound in his knee. “I think Mom’s proven that she’s learned a thing or two about negotiation and you definitely don’t want to find out what happens if you go after Nora or Michael,” he warns. 

Jesse is seething as he squirms on the ground in pain, but for once, he doesn’t have a response for him. 

_Good_.

“Hey,” Michael says quietly, gently reaching for Alex’s hand. “You good?”

With one last look at Jesse on the ground and the slow leak of blood from his bullet wound, he nods. “Yeah,” he says, moving together to reach their exit door. When they get there, Alex looks back one last time as he turns over the decision before him. The night guard will find him, but even knowing that, Alex calls for an ambulance. Michael waits with him, staring at Alex in disbelief. 

“Alex…”

It’s not all kindness. There’s a part of it that comes from the fact that he’s still Alex’s father, monster that he is, and he doesn’t want to see him die. More importantly, “If I bring the ambulance here, that’s more evidence against him,” he says, before the dispatcher picks up so Alex can tell them the situation, giving Michael a nod, promising that he’s got it in hand. 

“This is going to be the weirdest class share when they ask what I’ve been up to,” Michael quips as they move towards the exit after their mothers.

It’s exactly what Alex needs to hear. It pulls a laugh from him and he wraps his arms tightly around Michael’s waist for support, hobbling out of there not because he’s physically tired, but he’s emotionally wrecked. “How about, you had a vicious disagreement with your boyfriend’s father and are probably no longer invited to Sunday dinner.”

“Yup,” Michael agrees, making sure the door seals tightly behind them. “It’s a good thing my boyfriend’s parents are separating, because his Mom is pretty badass.”

“Yeah, she is, isn’t she?” Alex agrees, looking forward to where his mother is making the most of her reunion with the woman she loves. “You want some time with your Mom?”

“I’ll get it later,” Michael promises, kissing Alex’s temple and ruffling some of his hair in the process. “I think our mothers might be dating again. I’d be worried about the rebound, but...” He’s grinning, clearly not unhappy at all about this development.

Given that they’re watching Nora pull Mindy into her arms to embrace her tightly, their foreheads pressed together, and then sharing a passionate kiss, dating is probably an understatement.

“I’m not using it as an excuse to bolt,” Michael vows, like he’s reading Alex’s mind as he worries about what this means for them.

“Good,” Alex says, feeling the adrenaline of the escape soar within him. It’s what gives him the courage to say what he feels. “Because I kind of fell in love with you and I know my mother might have met yours first, but I’m calling dibs on you.”

Michael reaches over for his hand, sliding the tips of his fingers over the back of Alex’s palm as he gives Alex a smug grin. “Say that again.”

Easy as pie. “I love you,” Alex says with a laugh, almost like he can’t believe how easy it is. “I love the way you frown over your worst student’s paper because you feel like it’s your fault. I love that your go-to dinner when you cook is eggs and macaroni. I love your curls in the morning, I love your sleepy eyes, and I love that you’re an alien.” 

He breathes and he loves Michael Guerin.

“I love you, Professor Michael Guerin, because you came with me to an alien prison that my father ran and you’re still here. You’re fearless and you’re wildly smart and you’re mine.”

The bright smile on Michael’s face is worth every last nerve it’s taken for Alex to say those words. “Damn glad to hear you say that, because I love the hell out of you too, Professor Alex Manes,” he promises, wrapping his arm around his shoulder.

Alex desperately wishes that they could have some alone time, but pinning Michael to the back seat of a very crowded car to make out is a bad idea when they have aliens to secure and get back to their families. It’ll have to be a rain check for later.

“Boys?” Nora calls over. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah, Mom!” Michael shouts back.

The ecstatic look on Michael’s face is one that Alex is so damn happy to see, even if he’s not the one who put it there. “You okay?” Alex asks, giving Michael a gentle nudge when he seems completely stunned.

“It’s gonna take some getting used to,” Michael admits, “in the very best way.” His eyes land on the aliens waiting for them and Alex sees what he does -- the way Mindy and Nora hold hands as they talk to the others. “C’mon,” he encourages. “The sooner we get everyone home, the sooner you can lay me out on that bed of yours and tell me again how much you love me.”

When he puts it like that, Alex can’t find it in him to argue at all.

* * *

The townhome is no longer just Alex’s. 

For the last year, it’s belonged to both him and Michael. Their cohabitation had basically been an unspoken agreement after Caulfield when they both realized that they didn’t want to live in two separate places when they could be living together. Alex remains grateful to this day that all the insanity in their lives hadn’t ruined things between them, but given them a strong foundation to work with.True, it’s more than a little awkward given their tangled family tree, but in Alex’s defense, how could he have known that his mother’s been in love with his boyfriend’s mother, all these years? 

His phone pings with a notification while Alex has his cheek on Michael’s thigh, a documentary playing on their new television.

“Who is it?” Michael asks, when Alex reaches to check his phone.

“Moms,” he mumbles. It’s a text inviting them over for Sunday dinner at the Roswell house, and a promise that Nora will not be cooking, since no one wants to repeat the incident that nearly burned down the house with a pot roast.

“It’s still kind of weird that our mothers are dating, right?” Michael brings up the elephant in the room. 

““Don’t tell me you’re gonna break up with me, I just learned how to make you speechless with a twenty minute blowjob.” It’s a joke, but Alex is trying to hide the deeper fear -- that Michael genuinely thinks that this could be their end because he can’t get over the oddness. Every once in a while, the topic will come up, but luckily, Alex is done letting it make him insecure.

“I don’t want to, it’s just… _weird_.”

He’s not wrong. It is weird. It’s the kind of weird that Alex is ready to live with, though. 

He’s steel and iron as he makes his promise to Michael. “I don’t care how weird it is, I’m not giving you up.” That day they met in the mentorship meeting had been the clearest moment in Alex’s life of him knowing what he wanted. It doesn’t matter if his mother fell in love with a Truman first.

There’s more than enough of them to go around. 

It seems like Alex has said the exact right thing. 

“Professor Alex Manes,” Michael drawls, “I am so glad you walked into my classroom, in my school, wearing those sexy as hell jeans that made me want to eat you up.” He slides his fingers into Alex’s hair, settling back to watch the movie. “Tell Moms that we’re in. And then, once this documentary is finished,” Michael continues, in the exact same tone of voice, “go and get naked in the bedroom so I can show you just how much I like hearing you say that sort of thing.”

Alex doesn’t bother hiding his delighted grin as he texts back his response.

His eyes on the television screen, but his mind is elsewhere.

It’s _perfect_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it here, thank you for reading! This was many months of pulling teeth in the best way and I was rewarded with incredible art, so I can't say thank you enough!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [seen that same look in your mother's eyes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047291) by [Milzilla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milzilla/pseuds/Milzilla)




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